Da Capo Al Fine: Season 3
by Cassie Valentine
Summary: Continuation of Da Capo Al Fine: Season 2. Jess and Sookie each get a visitor that will change their lives forever, a fire is lit under Luke's love life & Lorelai watches her life go up in flames as she prepares Charlie for her summer in Hartford
1. Chapter 1

Well, here we go again. Season 3 is a doozy, 88000 odd words before final edit. Yes, this part has gone through the final edit. And yes, I will be starting season 4 soon after I am done with the final edit. :)

* * *

Lorelai sighed a little in her sleep as she rolled over, the late summer sun just beginning to peak through the curtains on her bedroom window. She jumped awake when an alarm to her left started to go off. She rolled on to her side and blindly began to smack the Hello Kitty alarm clock, finally succeeding in turning off the buzz. With a quiet groan, she allowed herself to collapse back into the soft pillows and blankets. Just as she felt her self starting to drift off again, another alarm began to buzz. And then another, and another. Flopping onto her back and slowly raising herself up on her elbows as the last of the alarms that littered the room started to buzz, she took a quick look around. 

"You are hilarious!" she yelled, loud enough to be heard down stairs. Lorelai sat in bed for a moment longer before finally getting up and silencing the alarm clocks. Satisfied that none of them would ever wake her again, she quickly made her way downstairs. "Okay, see, last night, when I said to you _Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I get up at seven_, what I actually meant was _Tomorrow, no matter what, make sure I have the OPTION of getting up at seven in case when seven comes around, I actually want to get up_," she said as she rounded the corner and made her way into the kitchen. "Which, as it happened, I didn't. Therefore, you are currently responsible for the great alarm clock slaughter of 2002," she finished, brushing past Luke who was cooking at the stove and diving into the refrigerator to pull out the coffee grounds she kept in there.

"No survivors?" he asked casually, peaking over his shoulder at her before he returned to playing with the bacon he was frying.

"The one shaped like a bunny escaped with a _mild_ decapitation," she told him as she opened the container that held the coffee grounds and stuck her nose in for that first heavenly scent. "This is decaf," she announced a few seconds later as she turned to look at Luke.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, turning slightly to look at her.

"You switched my coffee again," she accused him as she quickly put the container on the counter beside the stove, pinched off a bite of bacon and began to search the kitchen, flinging drawers and cupboard doors open as she searched for her real coffee.

"I'm a busy man," Luke said, finally tearing himself away from the stove and trailing behind her. "I don't have time to sneak around switching your coffee. I have a diner to run, I have shipments to order, I have thing to flip and fry. Will you stop that?" he asked as she began to look under the sink.

"HA! Ha ha, ha ha ha!" She said as she yanked a coffee ground filled bag out from under the sink and Luke rested his hands on his cap as he sighed. "Under the sink, very clever, but not clever enough bucko!" she told him with a smile as she opened the bag and stuck her nose in for a smell.

"Okay, fine, you know what? I give up," he said, throwing his hands in the air before returning to the stove to fill a plate.

"Woo hoo!" she agreed as she headed to the coffee maker.

"Go one day without coffee."

"That's not giving up."

"I'll put a toy in your cereal," Luke said dryly as he continued to heap eggs and bacon onto a plate.

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaimed, sounding slightly amused.

"Fine, here, you win," he said as he handed her the plate heaped with food.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of all the food. She forgot about the coffee for the time being.

"You're welcome," he said as he brushed past her. "Now you're up, you're fed, I'm leaving."

"Oh, hey, we need q-tips," she said, still standing by the table, holding her plate.

"I'll alert the media," he replied sarcastically as he put on his watch.

"See, that's better with the accent," she complained, putting her plate on the counter.

"The reference is enough, you'll learn that one day. I'll be home early, anything besides the q-tips?" he asked as he came to stand in front of her.

"Um . . . Cotton balls, world peace, Connie Chung's original face back," she rattled off as he pulled her close and kissed her.

"Good bye Crazy Lady," he muttered, kissing her once more before he bent down. "Good bye Sid and Nancy," he muttered to her stomach.

"Leopold and Loeb," Lorelai said quickly.

"What?" he asked, hand still resting on her stomach.

"I changed my mind, don't tell Rory and Charlie."

"Decaf," he pleaded, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Never."

"They'll both have two heads," he complained.

"Ah, more to love!" she said with a smile. He frowned slightly and kissed her once more before he left the house. She turned to watch him go, waiving slightly before holding her hands over her stomach and smiling.

Lorelai woke with a start, kicking off half of her covers in the process. She looked around the darkened bedroom, trying to orientate herself as she got her breathing under control. She let her eyes fall on Charlie's crib and listen to the gentle breathing of her baby before she quickly flopped back against her pillow. She lay there for a minute, gathering herself before she leaned over and reached for the phone, falling out of bed with a thud in the process.

"Whoa! Ugh," she said, landing hard on the ground. She rolled to her side as she continued to dial while kicking herself free from the covers that had tangled themselves around her feet and legs. Only when she heard the phone start ringing did she glance over to make sure Charlie was still asleep before she tossed her covers back on the bed.

"Hello," came a sleepy voice on the other end of the phone.

"You have to come home," Lorelai blurted out to Rory.

"Mom?" Rory asked, still trying to figure out what exactly was going on. She eventually sat up in her bed as she listened as her mother began to rant about the house being too quiet and Bill Maher's show being cancelled. "You had another dream," she finally figured out. This was not the first time Lorelai had called while she was in Washington to have a dream analysed.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"The doctor is in," Rory said as she sat up and threw her covers off. Lorelai quickly began to spill out her dream about cooking Luke to Rory. "Was he naked?" she asked immediately, eyes going wide.

"No! He was making breakfast!"

"Naked?" Rory asked again.

"Okay, you've been in Washington way to long," Lorelai said. Rory hadn't been one to fixate on nakedness until she got to Washington. Rory apologised quickly and told her mother to keep going so Lorelai launched into what he had made and how he had hid the coffee.

"Hi, the nose," Rory threw in.

"Exactly. So, eventually I find the real stuff under the sink. He hands me my breakfast, and then . . ." Lorelai paused for dramatic effect.

"What?" Rory asked, eager to hear the kicker to this story.

"He _kissed _me and _talked to my stomach_!" she finished dramatically.

"Why would he do that?" Rory asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to figure this out.

"Because, apparently I'm pregnant!"

"Again?"

"With twins!" she exclaimed, ignoring the 'again' comment. "Say something," she said after a long pause.

"You are going to be soooooooo fat," Rory said, remembering her pregnancy with Charlie.

"Just analyze my dream, please," Lorelai huffed as she crossed her legs, slightly insulted by Rory's fat comment.

"Okay," Rory said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Well, your dream was telling you that you are secretly in love with Luke and that you wanna marry him and have his twins."

"Uh, no, try again," Lorelai said with a short snort of laughter. After hearing nothing from Rory for so long about her 'thing' for Luke, she was more than a little disappointed to hear her mention it again. The pair argued about reanalyzing the dream, threats were made and finally, with a sigh, Rory said that it may have to do with the fact that Sherry is having Christopher's baby and she's jealous.

"Mom?" she asked after a pause.

"I miss you," was all she said, sounding slightly tearful.

"I miss you too. And Charlie."

"She misses you too. She keeps looking for you in your room and gets very frustrated when I won't help her find you." Rory smiled when she heard this. She missed the baby's antics. They both paused in their conversation when Paris started to randomly blurt out names in her sleep. "See you Friday, doc," Lorelai said, finally signing off.

"See you Friday," Rory returned as they both hung up.

Lorelai returned the phone to the bed side table before she pulled herself up off the floor and wandered over to check on Charlie before heading back to bed for a few more hours while Rory sat in bed for a few more moments before sliding out of bed and heading over to the desk that was hers. She flipped on the light and sighed as she sat down to stare at a piece of paper she had started a letter on. She took the cap off of her pen and sighed as she stared at what she had written.

_Dear Jess,_ was as far as she had gotten.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman," Paris suddenly blurted out. Rory whipped her head around to stare at her for a moment before she turned back to her almost blank piece of paper, cradling her chin in a hand as she rested her elbow on the desk.

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai pulled herself out of bed, still feeling exhausted after the interruption last night. Charlie, on the other hand, was up and ready to go.

"Momma!" she called from the crib as she stood against the side rail.

"Give mommy a minute," she called as she sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. The dream she had last night was still flittering around her head and battling for space with the things Rory had said. As she lost herself in her own personal analysis of the dream, Charlie became impatient again and started to rattle the railing she was holding on to. "Ok, ok," she said as she finally heaved herself up from the bed and padded over to the crib.

"Go," she said as soon as she was in Lorelai's arms. "Go," she said again, pointing towards the door.

"Oh hold your horses," she said as she quickly changed the baby before bringing her down stairs to get her a cup of juice. "You drink this," she said as she headed back up the stairs. "I'll shower," she finished as she trudged back into the bedroom and dropped Charlie back into the crib. She quickly tossed a few books and toys in with her before she grabbed her dress and headed for the shower.

* * *

Lorelai sighed a little as she and Charlie walked past Luke's. She hadn't been back in since before Rory had left for Washington.

"Go?" Charlie asked as they walked past Luke's, pointing to the diner to help get her point across.

"Not today," she said automatically as they continued on their way to Sookie's house. Charlie squirmed for a bit, trying to get back to Luke's. She was big on having a routine and not going into Luke's was definitely disrupting that routine. "Hey, come on," Lorelai muttered to her. "I don't really like it either, but it's his fault," she told Charlie as they kept walking. Charlie gave a disgruntled cry before she finally resigned herself to her fate.

Lorelai held her head up a little high as they continued on their way. She had a feeling that everyone in town was watching her and Luke, trying to figure out exactly what was going on between them and she had no plans to let them think that she was the one who was hurting.

* * *

Sookie had greeted the girls brightly at the door and quickly invited them in. Since they couldn't go to Luke's any more, and there was really no where else to eat breakfast, Sookie had taken pity on them and fed them every morning and today was no exception. Lorelai deposited Charlie on the blanket in Sookie's living room so she could play with the small collection of toys that seemed to have taken up residence there while she took a seat at the table so they could talk while Sookie cooked.

"No way," Lorelai said as she stared at the piece of bacon in her fingers. Breakfast had been served a few minutes ago and the three girls were already digging in while Jackson was showering

"I swear," Sookie said as she offered Charlie some more fruit. The toddler looked at it for a moment before she began trying to spear it with her fork. Charlie gave up after a moment and picked it up with the hand that wasn't holding a fork.

"Huh, Kosher bacon," Lorelai said again, looking at the bacon in her hand before biting into it again.

"Beef, not pork," Sookie replied as she offered Charlie a piece. Charlie took it eagerly and started to chew on it. Lorelai chuckled as she watched the reaction. Charlie scrunched her nose up and quickly stuck her tongue out as she reached up with her free hand to scrape the bacon off. "What's wrong?"

"Not big on beef yet," Lorelai said as she accepted the uneaten bacon from Charlie. "I, on the other hand, am so Jewish," she said as she started to eat it. Sookie could only chuckle at this proclamation.

"Hey Sookie, where's my . . ." Jackson called from the other room as he made his way to the kitchen. Sookie and Lorelai quickly cut him off. Sookie called out that Lorelai and Charlie were here while Lorelai covered Charlie's eyes and her own. "Will you stop it? I'm dressed," he said with a bit of a smirk as he came into the kitchen. Lorelai relaxed and started to ramble on about what had happened the last time Jackson had walked into the kitchen while she and Charlie had been there. "Once, that happened once," Jackson said in his own defence over the whole wearing only a tiny towel incident.

"Well, once was enough," Lorelai added before going back to her breakfast. As Sookie began to relate her plans for painting the house to Jackson, Lorelai quickly jumped in, offering hers and Rory's help while Jackson tried to tell them both he didn't want to paint.

"Okay, if you're gonna come over here everyday, you have to actually hear both of us," he told Lorelai as he leaned in between her and Sookie. She quickly asked why they weren't going to paint the house and listened in amusement as Sookie and Jackson argued a little more about the situation.

"There's flowers everywhere!"

"I like flowers, I'm a produce guy," Jackson replied.

"The curtains are ruffly," Sookie added, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

"I like ruffles," he replied with a shrug.

"How can you like ruffles?" she asked him, turning in her chair to look at him as he headed into the living room.

"Because I'm very, very gay," he replied, gathering a few more things that he needed.

"Jackson!" Sookie admonished with a smile.

"Judy, Vincent has to go to work now. Good bye Lorelai, Charlie. Tell her I'm fine, I like things just the way they are," he told them as he came back into the kitchen long enough to kiss Sookie good bye before he turned and left for the day.

"I'll try," Lorelai assured him. As Sookie quickly began to spill out her colour choices, Lorelai ate the last of her bacon and began to clean Charlie up so they could head out for the day as well. She quickly thanked Sookie for breakfast as she picked Charlie up out of the high chair. "Oh hey, bacon's manly," she called from the living room as she gathered the toys that were scattered around. "Why don't you just nail a bunch of packages of Kosher bacon on the walls huh? Smells like meat blessed by a rabbi, now that's a manly house," she finished with a smile as she put Charlie's hat on her head before grabbing her own.

"Buh bye," Sookie called with a smile, still flipping through her paint chips.

"Okay, but it you're still thinking paint, you're still thinking like a chick!" she called with a smile as she finally scooped up Charlie and headed out of the house.

* * *

Lorelai allowed herself and Charlie another quick moment to stare in at Luke's diner after Taylor had left them. While she was excited about another 'Crazy group flip out' as Luke called it, she missed Luke and she missed Rory and she missed Christopher. Just as Luke looked up from the table he was waiting on, Lorelai started walking towards the Inn again.

Luke sighed a little as he saw Lorelai and Charlie glance into the diner. He waved a little at them, but only Charlie noticed and waived back before she was distracted by something Lorelai said to her. He couldn't help but smile a little at how the hat Charlie was wearing, like every hat she ever wore, had slipped down over her eyes so that she had to tilt her head back to see anything. The smile quickly slid off of his face when Jess's new girl friend marched in and the pair started to make out over the counter.

* * *

As Lorelai and Michel stood at the front desk, still chuckling at Kirk's sales pitch for Hay There, the phone began to ring. Michel quickly wandered off and left Lorelai to answer it.

"Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking," she answered cheerfully, still sorting through the mail in her hand.

"What day is this?" Emily fired back at her.

"Mom?"

"What day is this?" Emily asked again. As Lorelai tried to figure out what exactly was going on, her mother quickly blasted her for not calling them when they got back from Martha's Vineyard. Lorelai finally gave up and simply apologised and accepted the guilt as Emily continue on with why she had called, telling them that she, Rory and Charlie were expected at dinner tomorrow.

"Rory doesn't get back 'til Saturday," Lorelai quickly lied. After debating this for a few more minutes, Emily quickly moved on to inquiring about Christopher. "He's away on business, but I'll tell him you invited him," Lorelai quickly said again.

"And tell him to come with you three next week. I wanna see the four of you together," she said happily.

"Yes, that would be a nice picture," Lorelai replied, not even trying to sound happy. She could just imagine what her mother was going to say when she finally told them that Christopher had gone back to Sherry.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Emily said brightly, satisfied with the conversation.

"Yes, you will. Bye," she said sadly as she hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment a she heaved a small sigh. She hadn't been the least bit surprised that her mother had missed the lack of enthusiasm in her voice.

* * *

After spending the rest of the week sulking about what she was going to tell her parents, Lorelai was more than a little relived to have Sookie call her and ask her to help her shop for manly antiques.

"She break, you buy," Mrs. Kim had told Lorelai firmly, pointing first at Charlie and then at Lorelai.

"So, if I break, does she buy?" she joked. Mrs. Kim sent her a dirty look before she turned on her heel and disappeared into the store. Sookie and Lorelai both chuckled a little as they milled around. Unfortunately for Lorelai, the conversation inevitably fell to her parents not knowing about Christopher being gone.

"How could you not tell them?" Sookie exclaimed.

"They left two days after your wedding and they were in Martha's Vineyard all summer," she defended her self as she grabbed Charlie's hands to keep her from reaching for a lamp that was already precariously perched on the edge of a table. "It just seemed quieter." Sookie shook her head before pointing out a lamp that was covered in cherubs. Lorelai made an Oscar Wilde joke before the trio moved on.

"You know you're going to have to tell them tonight, right? I mean, the subject will come up," Sookie said as they continued on through the shop. "They probably think you and Christopher are heading down the aisle any day now."

"I know, I know," she said with a sigh as she ran a hand over a dusty bureau. The silence the pair fell into was quickly broken as Sookie began to gush over a twelve hundred dollar shaving table before moving on to a stuffed antique fish. Lorelai spent a moment trying to talk her out of it before she had to duck out. She had to pick up Rory, and bring her home, before she and Charlie headed to dinner in Hartford. "Ten bucks if you don't let her buy the fish," she whispered to Mrs. Kim on the way out.

"Twenty."

"You're kidding," she said with a chuckle.

"I never kid," Mrs. Kim replied.

"You know," she said, shifting Charlie to her other hip. "I believe that," she finished as she dug through her bag for a twenty dollar bill.

* * *

"Hey Gilmore!" Lorelai called out excitedly as soon as she saw Rory come out of the gate.

"Mom!" Rory called out as she raced over to meet her. Rory, Lorelai and Charlie were quickly a mess of arms as they clung to each other, tripping over dropped bags and tumbling to the floor. Lorelai and Rory chuckled as they untangled themselves from each other. Charlie took one look at Rory and clung a little tighter to Lorelai. Rory was going to have to work to get back into her good graces. "I am never leaving home again!"

"That's my emotionally stunted girl!" Lorelai joked with a smile. The pair joked around a little longer until Charlie'd had enough.

"Go!" she said loudly, turning to look at her mother and pointing to the way they had come. Lorelai and Rory picked themselves up with a sigh and gathered bags as they began to head out of the air port, Charlie still firmly held in Lorelai's arms.

"By the way, I got you out of dinner with the Gilmore's tonight. I thought you and Lane might enjoy some time reconnecting."

"Thanks, what'd you tell 'em?"

"That you got home tomorrow," Lorelai answered with a smile as both she and Rory pulled their sunglasses on as they left the terminal while Charlie was left squinting out at the world from under her hat.

As they climbed into the car, Rory's mind began to race and she tuned her mother out as she focused on her own thoughts. She had actually been looking forward to seeing her grandparents, if only to delay having to see Jess again. She hadn't told any one about kissing him and she wasn't really sure why. She wasn't going out with anyone, she could have told any one she wanted, but she hadn't. She also didn't know why she hadn't been able to write anything to Jess. Lane had sent her a letter every week and she had replied, but she had never gotten any further than _Dear Jess_.

* * *

Rory smiled in contentment as they finally got home and got everything and every one into the house. She grinned as her mother started in on the amount of books she had brought with her as well as the fact that she was convinced she was now lopsided from the weight.

"Hello living room," she said brightly as she looked around. Not much had changed in the 6 weeks she had been gone. There were a few more magazines on the table and Charlie's quilt had been replaced with the playpen that had been sitting in the hall closet since Emily had dropped it off. "I thought you didn't believe in the baby prison," Rory said when she saw it, remembering several arguments between her mother and grandmother about leaving Charlie in the playpen when she was not napping.

"Yeah well, she may not walk yet, but she can go from sitting to 60 in 2 seconds and since it's just me here with her, I needed a little help." Rory glanced around the living room a little more, satisfied with that explanation before she headed towards her room.

"Oh my God, I've missed everything! My kitchen, my room, my books, my CDs, my stuff," Rory chanted as she walked down the hall. She stopped abruptly when she finally got into her room and had a look around. "Where's my pillow?" she asked her mother as she stuck her head back out of her room.

"What?" Lorelai asked, feigning ignorance as she took Charlie's hat off and set her loose.

"You took my pillow," Rory said as she ducked back into her room to make sure nothing else was missing as she tossed her duffle bag onto the floor.

"I did not take your pillow," Lorelai said, keeping half an eye on Charlie who was making her way down to Rory's room.

"You waited until I left, you went into my room and you took my pillow."

"Well, you weren't using it," she finally admitted with a shrug.

"What else did you take?"

"Nothing!" She said confidently. "Your comforter came into my room by itself. . . And brought your Bauhaus T-shirt with it," she said slightly quieter.

"I want my stuff back tomorrow morning," Rory called as she began to rummage through her closet. "By noon!" she added when Lorelai started to complain.

"Fine," she finally answered.

"Hey Charlie!" Rory said brightly to the toddler when she had seated herself in the door way. "Missed you," Rory said as she abandoned the closet and sat on the floor in front of her sister. Charlie looked at Rory long and hard before she started moving again, crawling over top of Rory so she could get in the room and investigate. Mean while, Lorelai had wandered back to the living room and noticed that the answering machine was blinking at her.

"Lor, it's me, please just call. . . " Lorelai quickly hit the delete button on the machine before the message had finished. She was still hurting over Christopher and felt no need to deal with him. She quickly turned on her heel and headed to Rory's room to peak in at the girls.

"Dad?" Rory asked quickly as she supervised Charlie's exploration of her duffle bag.

"Yeah," she said quietly, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's called me too," Rory said, turning her attention to her mother. Charlie, sensing the tension in the room stopped going through the bag and sat herself down on the floor, looking from Rory to Lorelai.

"I just. . . I don't really know what to say," she said as she finally came into the room and took a seat on the bed. Rory asked how long the freeze out was going to last and Lorelai just shook her head. Rory agreed, not pressing for any more information. "I have to tell my parents tonight," she said as an afterthought, playing with the covers still left on Rory's bed. Her mind wandered to how she had come to be freezing Chris out, but was quickly pulled back to reality by Rory.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you and. . . I don't know, distract 'em?" Rory asked.

"No, you've got Lane coming over. I'll be fine. Besides, I'll have Charlie with me, she'll distract them." The pair fell silent for a moment and Charlie went back to pulling things out of Rory's bag. She squealed when she pulled out a little book and quickly turned back to Rory, plopping herself down in her lap. She waived the book around until Rory finally took it and began to read to her. "Well, looks like you're back in her good graces."

"What can I say? You gotta know how to bribe 'em," she said with a smile. "I'm just gonna read this, and then change."

"Change?"

"Yeah," she said. "This isn't very festivalee." Lorelai looked at her for a moment, the jeans and peasant top looked pretty festavalee to her. "I'll just be a couple of minutes."

"No woman is ever a couple of minutes when she changes," Lorelai quipped as she stood up.

"Don't judge me by your own standards," Rory called to her as Lorelai finally left the room and she began to read. Lorelai hesitated in the doorway for a moment, taking one last look at her girls before she went up stairs to pick out something for her and Charlie to wear to Emily and Richard's. Rory and Charlie would be at least 15 minutes, so she might as well use the time to get things picked out and co-ordinated.

* * *

Lorelai leaned on Charlie's stroller as she shook her head. Taylor was just as unreasonable as always and had quickly zoomed off in his electric wheel chair, broken foot sticking straight out in front of him, after he had mistaken Lorelai's positive reply about the barber shop singers.

"That is it," she said firmly. "I have been nice for the last. . . " she trailed off when she realised that Rory wasn't paying any attention what was going on. Her attention was firmly on Jess and the girl that was attached to his face. "Well, looks like he's got his _What I did this summer_ essay all researched and ready to go." Lorelai looked back at Rory again for a moment. "You're upset," she said, point blank, finally catching her attention.

"No, I'm not upset," Rory said without tearing her eyes away from Jess.

"Yes, you are upset. I know when you're upset 'cause you look like my mother," Lorelai said, standing up straight and focusing all her attention on Rory.

"Thanks a lot!" Rory said sarcastically, finally turning her attention to Lorelai.

"You like my mother."

"Yes, but you don't like your mother, so when you tell me that I look like your mother, it's not exactly a compliment," Rory fired back before snapping her head back around to stare at Jess. Again.

"Honey, what is wrong?" Lorelai asked again. The pair quickly began to argue and the fact that Rory had kissed Jess at Sookie's wedding finally came out and the pair became silent.

"It was nothing," Rory finally insisted, looking everywhere but at Jess or her mother. "It was nothing."

"If it was nothing, why did you run off to Washington?"

"I didn't _run off_!" Rory shot back. "It was for school. I went because I had too!"

"I remember at one point, the thought of going to Washington made your stomach hurt and then, suddenly, you can't wait to get on the plane!"

"I just changed my mind! You're always telling me that's what women do and I'm a woman so I changed my mind!!"

"You need to figure this out, kid," Lorelai said as she shook her head a little. "You need to figure out what you want because, believe me, there aren't always going to be trips to Washington when you need to run away and think things through." Rory and Lorelai fumed at each other for a moment.

"I don't wanna talk to you about this any more."

"Look, I really don't care. Be with Jess, don't be with Jess but either way, you need to figure this out Rory."

"Alright, I get it, I. . . just stop!" Rory yelled. As Lorelai opened her mouth to add one last thought, Lane called out to them as she jogged across the square to meet up with them.

"I'm so glad you're home!" she said as she threw her arms around Rory.

"Me too," Rory replied, hugging Lane back.

"Okay, well, we're off to dinner with my parents," she said as she grabbed a hold of the stroller and began to back away from Rory and Lane. "See you later," she said to the girls. Lane smiled and said good bye but Rory's gaze had already strayed back to Jess and his hussy.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

So, season 3 is official finished and it clocked in at a massive 227 pages and 100 161 words. Hope you kids enjoy it. And yes, I have started season 4 already.

* * *

Lorelai held Charlie firmly as Emily gushed about how adorable Charlie looked in the little dress Lorelai had put her in. She fidgeted for a moment longer until Emily turned her attention to Lorelai. 

"Um, mom, before we get the evening started and all, I wanna tell you something," she finally said.

"Well, tell me out side," Emily said happily as she tried to lead the way to the back patio.

"No, I'll just do it here," Lorelai said, inching a little closer to the door, making sure that Charlie was still between her and her mother.

"Why?"

"Oh, there's just something about standing near the exit that's really working for me," she assured her mother. Lorelai was quickly brushed off as Emily grabbed her arm and began to usher her towards the patio. They were met by Richard along the way and Lorelai started to lose her nerve now that she was going to have to tell both of her parents about Christopher and Sherry at the same time. Emily and Richard quickly led them out to the patio and handed Lorelai and Charlie a drink. Gifts from Martha's Vineyard were also quickly handed over to the two of them and while Emily gushed on and on about how wonderful the scone mix was and how adorable Charlie was going to look in the outfit they brought back for her, Lorelai felt her nerve slipping even further away.

The final straw for Lorelai came when Emily started to go on and on about how it was so fortunate that Lorelai and Christopher had gotten together now, while Charlie was so young, how they were going to get a chance to really bond. "It's about Christopher," she finally blurted out when she was given the chance.

"Oh, that reminds me, we got him a captain's hat!" Emily said happily. "Richard, where is that hat? Lorelai can bring it to him."

"No, I can't!" she said, interrupting her parents. "Chris and I aren't. . . "

"Aren't what?" Richard asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"They aren't together anymore, Richard," Emily said, sounding very disappointed. Lorelai sighed a little and concentrated on Charlie as her parents bickered for a moment. Emily quickly moved on to insulting Lorelai.

"I don't flit from man to man!" she cried, thoroughly insulted that her mother would even suggest such a thing.

"I want to know why," Emily finally demanded. "I want a reason. I don't want any of this _just because_ and _it just didn't work out _nonsense. I want a solid, adult reason why the father of my granddaughters and their mother can't seem to put a family together."

"His girlfriend is pregnant," Lorelai blurted out. "Sherry is pregnant and when Christopher found out, he went back to her and that, Mother, is the reason," she finished as she began to rock a little in the chair to keep Charlie quiet. The toddler clung tightly to the cap sleeve of Lorelai's dress as she looked between her grandparents.

"Are they getting married?" Emily asked, sounding slightly horrified.

"I don't know. . . Probably," she said, gesturing with her free hand. Richard quickly jumped into the conversation and though she tried to changed the subject, her parents would have none off it. Lorelai sighed as Emily and Richard's argument grew more heated and Charlie began to fuss more loudly. "Ok, ok," she muttered to the toddler as she put her drink down on the table. She pulled Charlie close and kissed her on the forehead before she dropped the bag of scone mix back into the gift bag and shoved the new outfit Charlie was never going to wear on top. She took one more look at her bickering parents before she slowly stood up, slinging Charlie's bag over her shoulder before she grabbed her purse and the gift bag and headed towards the front door.

"Go?" Charlie asked, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied as she opened the door to the jeep and threw the bags in. "Let's go," she told Charlie as she strapped her in to the car seat, pulling the padded bar down in front of her. "Here," she said, as she fished out a Ziplock of Cheerio's and handed them to Charlie before she shoved the bags over to the passenger seat and climbed in herself.

* * *

Lorelai rested her head against the hand that was attached to the arm that was leaning against the window of the jeep as she headed back to Stars Hollow. She sighed a little as she let the familiar drive sooth her and Charlie. The silence in the jeep was only broken by the occasional rustle of a plastic baggie and the crunch of Cheerio's and she let her mind wander back to her parents bickering about her life. She sighed and tried to stay calm. She wasn't 12 anymore, her parents didn't have the right to publicly debate her life choices. 

This didn't seem to stop them, though.

She flipped through the radio stations quickly, trying to distract herself from her thoughts but quickly gave up when she couldn't find anything worth listening too. She wasn't all that surprised by Richard and Emily's freaking out about the disintegration of her relationship with Christopher. She knew their views on the subject. She had known them since she had announced she was pregnant with Rory and she had heard them all again when she had announced she was pregnant with Charlie.

"Mmmmm," Charlie finally piped up from the back.

"Is it good kiddo?"

"Mmmmm," Charlie announced again as she reached into the bag for another Cheerio and Lorelai turned her attention back to he road as the car fell into silence again.

"Home again, home again," Lorelai muttered as the town square finally came into view. She stopped the jeep and looked at Charlie through the rear view mirror and considered her options. Charlie was now slumped down in the car seat, about as relaxed as she could be while still awake, some soggy Cheerio's stuck on her face and some more smeared into the padded bar in front of her. She looked out at the Midsummer Madness Festival that was still in full swing and knew that if she headed out there, she'd have an over stimulated 1 year old to deal with. She looked to the left and saw Luke behind the counter, counting receipts. With a determined sigh she slid out of the jeep and liberated Charlie from the back seat, brushing the left over Cheerio's from her face. "Let's go be humble," she muttered to Charlie.

Luke looked up slightly from what he was doing when he heard the bells above the diner door jingle. He watched as Lorelai slipped in, Charlie in her arms, and came to a stop in the middle of the diner.

"We're closed," he said simply as he went back to what he was doing.

"I know," she said quietly. "Look, I didn't come here to make up, or try to get you to forgive me, or talk," she hitched Charlie a little higher up on her hip. "I wouldn't even have come here at all but I had a really crappy night and I really, really need a cup of coffee." The pair stared at each other for a moment. "Just pretend I'm not me. I'm Mimi, a new customer," she finished as Charlie began to squirm as she found her second wind.

"I've never been in here before. I was just walking down the street and I spotted this place," she told him, lowering Charlie to the ground. She left the toddler in the middle of the empty diner as she slowly made her way to the counter. "_Oh, hey, nice place._ And I came in. Now Mimi is going to pour herself a cup of coffee and just sit there, at that table, far away from you and she promises, just as soon as she's done, she will rinse out her own cup and leave," Lorelai finished as she quietly grabbed a mug from the counter and poured a cup of coffee before she headed over to the table she had pointed at and sat down. Both she and Luke cast a glance at Charlie who had settled herself down on the floor, the baggie of Cheerio's still clutched tightly in her fist.

"This is the third time I let myself do this," she said after a long silence.

"Do what?" Luke asked with a sigh. He tried to act like he didn't really care about what was going on.

"Think I finally found it," she said, staring straight ahead, her hands still holding tight to the coffee cup.

"Found what?" he asked again, casting a sidelong glance at her as he continued to refill various shakers, now that he was done with his receipts.

"Love, comfort, safety," she said with a shrug.

"Ah."

"I mean, first with Chris, which he screwed up and then with Max, which of course I screwed up, and then again with Christopher, which of course, all the elements of the universe got together to screw up," she smiled a little to herself as she said this.

"Yup, it's tough when the universe is against you. That's like takin' on the Manhattan garbage union," Luke added as he glanced out the window. He knew that if he looked at her, he wouldn't be able to keep up the air of nonchalance he had going on. She rattled on about Chris and Dan Quayle for a while longer and he finally looked over at her when he heard her voice crack.

"He became that guy . . . And he gets to be that guy with her. Chris is gonna have a baby with his girlfriend," she said tearfully and he glanced over at Charlie to see if she was picking up on all of this. Fortunately, the toddler was oblivious. "He's gonna marry her. . . And he's gonna be there for her while she's pregnant and he's gonna be there for her while her child grows up, and he's gonna be there for her while she does. . . Whatever it is she does," she finished with a nervous chuckle. She wiped at the tears that were in the corners of her eyes. "And I am in exactly the same place that I was in before."

"Is that so bad?" he asked, finally stopping what he was doing and looking at her. "I mean, you got Rory and Charlie. . ."

"Yes, I did," she said, a small smile on her face as she turned slightly to look at Charlie.

"You got friends, you got a house, a job, apparently an iron stomach," he added. No matter how hard he tried to stay away, he would probably always be her cheerleader.

"No, it's not so bad. I'm lucky, I know. I just. . . I feel like I'm never gonna have it. . . The whole package, you know? That person, that couple life, and I swear, I hate admitting it because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but. . . I _really_ want it. . . The _whole_ package," she lamented as she felt the tears starting to come again. She quickly focused her attention on the rim of her coffee mug. Luke sighed as a silence fell over the diner again and plated a donut for Lorelai before he dug out Charlie's cup and filled it with juice.

"You'll get it," he said as he dropped the donut off at the table and held the cup of juice out to Charlie. She stared up at him for a long moment before she finally took it from him.

"How do you know?" she asked as she turned her attention to the donut that was now sitting in front of her.

"I know," he answered simply, crossing his arms over his chest.

"_How_ do you know?" she asked him again as she looked up at him.

"Because I know, okay?" he asked her as he headed back to the counter. He stopped halfway between her and Charlie and turned to her again. "I know. Now eat your donut."

"I'm really not very hungry," she lamented, still trying to get herself under control.

"Well, take it with you, you'll be hun. . . " he trailed off as a flash of movement caught his eye. He turned to look at Charlie who had stood up and left her juice and baggie of Cheerio's on the ground. "What is she doing?" he asked when he saw the look on Charlie's face.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a sniffle as she turned to look at Luke and Charlie. Charlie looked between the pair before she fixed her eyes on the donut Lorelai had. The toddler squared her jaw and promptly took her first two steps before she tripped and Luke swooped down and caught her before she hit the ground. As Lorelai smiled in pride and Luke tried to get the toddler right side up in his arms, Charlie simply squirmed and pointed at the donut.

"GO!" she finally cried, pointing towards the table.

"You heard the lady," Lorelai finally got out. As Luke juggled Charlie for a few more moments, to make she had a good hold on her, she turned to her purse to pull out some cash.

"Good job," he whispered to the baby as he brought her over to the table. "First time customers and first steps are on the house," he said as he handed the toddler over to Lorelai.

"Mimi, was it?"

"Yeah," she said with a sniffle as she accepted Charlie and handed her the doughnut before she shoved the money back into her purse.

"Come again, Mimi," he said as he handed Lorelai another doughnut in a napkin.

"Thanks, I will. Seems like a very nice place," she said quietly as she too the second donut from him and made sure Charlie was happy. The pair looked at each other for a moment longer before she offered a small smile and slipped out the door. "Way to pull out the big guns, baby," she whispered to Charlie as she strapped her back into the jeep and headed home.

* * *

Lorelai and Charlie slipped into the house and greeted Rory who was sorting through a box of books. She deposited Charlie on the floor, her half eaten donut still in her hand, as she and Rory rambled out a half assed apology about the fight they'd had at the festival. 

"You were right," Rory said. "I can't just run every time I don't know what to do."

"So, is there. . .?" she asked hesitantly.

"No. I don't really know what I was thinking. I'm not looking for any one right now, I don't want any one right now."

"Well," Lorelai said. "Good . . . That you've made up your mind. This has been a big night for us Gilmore Girls. You have made up your mind, I made up with Luke and Charlie, the lady of the evening, took her first two steps."

"Really?" Rory exclaimed as she jumped up from the couch and crouched down in front of Charlie. "Did you really take a step?" Charlie glanced up from her donut and looked up at Rory. She offered a smile before holding the donut out and taking another couple of shaky steps. Rory laughed as she caught her sister and the pair both lost their balance and tumbled over. Lorelai couldn't help but join in the laughter. "And you and Luke? How did that happen?"

"Well, I'm Mimi now," she said with a shrug after everyone had calmed down.

"Right, sure," Rory said as she turned her attention back to Charlie who was currently trying to convince Rory to take the doughnut from her. The group fell into silence for a moment.

"I wonder if Christopher and Sherry's baby is going to look like me?" Lorelai asked after a while.

"Well, if this kid knows what's good for it, it absolutely will," Rory added with a snicker as she finally took the donut and Charlie started to work on getting the glaze off of her hands. Lorelai snickered to before she grabbed Charlie's bag and tossed it to Rory so she could dig out a diaper wipe and clean the toddlers hands off. With a contented sigh, Lorelai grabbed her purse and pulled out the second donut Luke had given her before she wandered over to sit on the floor with her girls.

* * *

"Rory, I think we should go back home," Lorelai said as she, Rory and Charlie stood outside the Gilmore Mansion. She hadn't spoken to either of her parents since she had walked out of dinner last Friday and she could only imagine what they were going to have to say about that. 

"Why?" Rory asked as she glanced over at her mother.

"I think Charlie has a fever. Maybe it's small pox." Rory frowned as she looked at Lorelai for a long moment.

"Ring the bell," Rory said, trying very hard to not roll her eyes at her mother.

"But. . "

"Ring the bell missy," Rory said again and more firmly as she pointed a finger at Lorelai.

"Fine, but if something horrible happens. . ."

"All the bad karma will fall directly on me. Ring the bell," she said again. Lorelai finally pressed the bell with a sigh and they stood waiting for the maid to let them in. They were quickly led into the sitting room where a thick silence fell over the group. After a few moments, Rory finally started trying to start a conversation, but the going was slow. "Hey, did mom tell you what Charlie did last week?" Rory finally blurted out.

"What did Charlie do last week?" Emily asked, focusing directly on Rory.

"Charlie," Rory called brightly Charlie glanced over at Rory from where she was playing on the floor. "Come here." Charlie stared for a moment longed before she stood and slowly walked over to Rory. She fell a few times as she made her way over, but didn't seem particularly bothered by it. Rory grinned a little as she lifted Charlie up onto her lap and she saw the flash of a smile cross Emily's lips.

"You're taking proper precautions, right Lorelai?" Emily immediately started.

"Yes mom," Lorelai replied tensely.

"You're child proofing the house?"

"Got it covered mom."

"She's just about 6 inches taller now that she standing so things that were out of reach before won't be now."

"I've got it covered, but thanks," Lorelai replied again, with a forced smile, arms still crossed over her chest.

"I just have to say, I don't know why you're the one sitting here with an attitude. I'm the one who should be mad," Emily said, sounding properly annoyed.

"Let's not do this, okay mom?" Lorelai asked, softening slightly as her voice took on an almost pleading tone that Emily hadn't heard since Lorelai's days of Spring Teas and Etiquette classes.

"After all, you're the one who just walked out of here last week without saying a word." Lorelai rolled her eyes as Emily continued to rant on and on about how Lorelai was so rude to her and Richard last week and how they had been cheated out of seeing Charlie's first steps. Lorelai heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes as Rory quickly jumped in and changed the subject to what was for dinner. Lorelai listened for a moment before she grabbed the paper and started to read the head lines.

"Shauna Christy shot her husband," she exclaimed as she scanned through the article.

"What?" Emily exclaimed, pulling the paper from Lorelai's hands. They quickly had a little discussion about Shauna Christy and her reasons for shooting her husband. "Shauna was always such a nice girl. She was bright, cultured and well-spoken."

"And apparently a big Annie Oakley fan," Lorelai quipped. Rory snickered as Emily began to rag on Lorelai again.

"At least she had a husband to kill," Emily threw in as a last shot.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Lorelai asked Rory with a forced smile on her face. Charlie looked up from her toy and stared at her mother for a long moment before she turned back to the toy.

* * *

As a rather mild July came to an end, August announced it's presence with gradually increasing temperatures and gradually decreasing rain storms. As the days seemed to grow longer because of the unrelenting sunshine, the Gilmore Girls took to heading into town to while the days away in stores that had air conditioning and freezers full of popsicles and Fudgesicles. 

Lorelai was impressed by the heat when it finally pushed Mrs. Kim to relent and allow Lane to go to the lake with Rory. The pair had taken to the cool water like bees to honey and soon, the only times they were seen around town was when they were heading to or returning from the lake.

Unfortunately for Lorelai, the idea of lugging an almost 14 month old to the lake was just too much to even contemplate so, she and Charlie split their days between the wading pool that she had set up under the shade of one of the large trees in her back yard and the bathtub when the sun just got to be too much for them.

She didn't really mind these lazy days of lounging near the wading pool while Charlie splashed, naked, in the pool because it reminded Lorelai of when Rory was little like this and every day was an adventure, simply because neither of them knew what was going to happen tomorrow.

As August drew to a close and the weather was giving them one last boiling hurrah, Lorelai stripped Charlie and plunked the grumpy baby into a tub of cool water while she sat on the tile floor, enjoying the coolness while they waited for Rory to wander home, wet and sandy, from the lake.

"Mom?" Rory called as she waltzed into the house after spending the day with Lane. While she wasn't wet, the sun had dried her off as she and Lane had walked home, she was sandy. She paused on the porch and pulled the towels out of her bag and quickly gave them a shake before she shoved them back in the bag. She quickly brushed a hand over her butt, making sure there was no lingering sand there either.

"Bathroom," Lorelai called. Rory dropped her book and snack bag by the door before she headed upstairs with the bag that held her towels. Rory pulled the sun glasses from her face and rested them on the top of her head as she climbed the stairs, the almost dry ends of her pony tail sticking to the sheen of sweat that was already forming on the back of her neck.

"Hey," she said when she slipped into the bathroom. "Why didn't you come to the lake with us?" she asked when she saw Charlie playing in the bath. Rory shook her head when she saw that the bathroom window was propped open with a wooden spoon. "Lane and I would have helped."

"Have you ever tried schlepping a baby to the lake?" Lorelai asked as she looked up at her eldest from her position on the rapidly warming tiles.

"Can't say that I have," she said as she tossed her towels in the hamper.

"Well, it's not fun, especially in this heat, no matter how much help you have. You need a day at the lake to recover from your day at the lake. Besides, she doesn't have a bathing suit yet," Lorelai commented as she pulled her hands up from the tile and fixed her hair. The humid weather had made straightening it a useless affair, so she was suffering through unruly, curly hair. Rory watched as her mother did something that looked very complicated, very quickly to keep the hair tied in a messy bun near the top of her head. Lorelai looked at the palms of her hands when she was done and frowned slight at the impressions that had been left on them from the floor.

"What about those swimming diapers?" Rory asked with a shrug as she finally sat down on the floor beside her mother.

"What do I look like, Donald Trump?" Lorelai asked quickly before turning her attention back to Charlie. "You're all wrinkled. Are you done?" Charlie looked up at her.

"No," she said clearly as she grabbed a hold of the rubber duck and immediately started to chew on it.

"Ah, a new word," Rory said as she leaned on the side of the tub. Charlie looked over at her and offered her the duck with a smile. Rory accepted it and pulled the toys that had floated out of her grasp towards her.

"Yeah. I was kind of hoping she wouldn't learn that particular word until she was married," Lorelai said with a sigh. "Hey, have you been to Luke's today?" It was really too hot to lug Charlie anywhere unless they were absolutely starving and since they had been stock piling take out for the last few days, they hadn't really had a need to leave the house.

"No, but we did pass by. He actually still had his flannel on." Lorelai and Rory turned to look at each other, the only sound breaking the silence was Charlie splashing in the tub.

"Do you think he finally got air conditioning in the diner?" Lorelai asked as she accepted a toy from Charlie. She held on to it for a moment before dropping it back into the water.

"Should we find out?" Rory asked as she grabbed a towel for Charlie, dropping it in her lap.

"Yes. And if he doesn't, at least we'll be able to harass him about his flannel security blanket," she said gleefully as she stood up before she lifted Charlie out of the tub. She held the toddler over the tub, letting her drip for a moment as Rory unfolded the towel.

"No! No, no, no, no!" Charlie chanted as Lorelai quickly handed her to Rory, who wrapped her up in a towel and carried her out of the bathroom. Lorelai sighed as she pulled the plug before tossing the toys into the sink to drain and dry off.

"Let's go see Luke," Lorelai said as she joined Rory and Charlie in her room.

"Duke?" Charlie asked, pausing momentarily in her attempts to escape the towel she had been wrapped up in.

"Mom!" Rory admonished sharply. Lorelai snickered as she dug out a diaper and contemplated what she should put on Charlie.

"Yes, Luke," she confirmed, not acknowledging Rory's horror at the return of Duke as she quickly dried Charlie off before diapering her. Rory shook her head as she slid off the bed to find something for Charlie to wear.

"Go," Charlie said quickly, still only in a diaper, as she rolled over so she could get away.

"Luke is going to kill you," Rory said as she brought over a dress for Charlie. It was yellow with white daisies embroidered along the hem.

"No he won't," she said confidently as she pulled the dress over Charlie's head. "He thinks anything she does is adorable.

"He is going to get mad and we are going to be forced back out into the street without any food," she lamented as she flopped onto the bed dramatically. Charlie giggled as the bed bounced beneath her and she tumbled over.

"Oh, go find her sandals Negative Nell," Lorelai sighed as she helped Charlie sit up again before she finished doing up the buttons on the back of the dress. Rory shook her head as she pulled herself up off the bed and headed to the box in the closet that held Charlie's three pairs of shoes and numerous slippers.

"Maker of trouble," Rory said as she handed her mother one of the sandals while she put the other one on. "Hat?"

"In the bag, downstairs. Let's go," she said, picking the toddler up as she ushered Rory out of the room. "Your pants are crying sand," she told Rory as she saw the little pile of sand that had fallen out of the cuff of Rory's pedal pusher pants.

"They miss the beach," she said absently as she brushed some sand off of the bedspread.

"Who doesn't?" Lorelai asked absently as they trekked downstairs. They paused for a moment at the door as Lorelai and Rory slipped their flip flops on and Lorelai dug Charlie's hat out of the baby bag. She quickly plunked Charlie's hat on her head, taking a quick moment to make sure that the brim of the bucket hat was low enough to keep the sun off of her nose, but high enough that she could still see. "Wait. You're still in your bathing suit," Lorelai said, finally realising that Rory was simply wearing her pants over her swimsuit. Usually, when Rory came home from the lake, she at least had a tank top or peasant top thrown over top.

"It's hot," she said simply as she looked down at what she was wearing. "I'm no more exposed than if I was wearing a tank top." Lorelai opened her mouth to comment but changed her mind.

"Glasses?" she asked instead. Rory quickly handed her her pair of sunglasses before slipping her own on. "To Luke's."

"Duke's!" Charlie chimed in.

"Ugh," the all groaned when a wall of hot air hit them as soon as they opened the door. They hesitated for a moment before they forced themselves out of the house and towards town square.

"We're driving next time," Lorelai muttered before they had even reached the end of the drive way.

"It's a 10 minute walk," Rory said as she looked over at her mother.

"Yeah, but at least when you drive, you can pretend there's air circulation," she explained. Rory grudgingly agreed as they continued their slow walk towards town under a sun that definitely should have started to set by then.

* * *

"Lucas!" Lorelai called out as she and her girls trooped into the diner. All three of them took a moment to appreciate the subtle drop in temperature. 

"Huh," Rory said as she looked around at the completely empty diner. "No Luke," Rory commented. "Or anyone else for that matter."

"Oooh, cold air," Lorelai said with a smile, ignoring Rory's observations as she angled herself and Charlie right under the air vent.

"Don't hog," Rory said, dashing over from the door way. She squeezed in with Lorelai and Charlie. "Are we the only ones in town without air conditioning?" She asked as she revealed in the cold air that was blowing down on them. Lorelai smiled as she watched Rory close her eyes and turn her face towards the artificial wind.

"I don't know. Luke!" Lorelai called again. She and Rory fell silent, listening for Luke. "Maybe he melted," Lorelai said as she turned Charlie loose in the deserted diner. "Maybe there's just this lonely puddle of flannel somewhere in the diner."

"I doubt he melted," Rory said as she finally opened her eyes. She quickly grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it under the air vent. She sat herself down with a contented sigh, allowing her legs to stretch out in front of her as she let her flip flops slide off of her feet.

"Probably," Lorelai said as she looked behind her and also grabbed a chair, arranging it so it was beside Rory's. "Charlie, where are you going?" Lorelai called. Charlie paused near the stairs up to Luke's apartment.

"Go," she said, pointing up the stairs.

"No one is going anywhere," Luke called from the top of the stairs. Lorelai and Rory couldn't help but giggle when Charlie landed flat on her bottom after Luke surprised her. He thumped down the stairs and came to a stop in front of her. The little girl pouted up at him with her best impersonation of her mother, clearly not impressed that he wasn't going to let her explore upstairs or that she had fallen because of him. Luke didn't say anything, he simply bent down and picked her up before heading to the back to grab a clean tea towel. "So you don't stick," he told her as he tossed it in the high chair before he strapped her in and pulled her over to her mother and sister. "Ice cream?" he asked casually before heading to the back.

"Chocolate!" Rory cried immediately.

"Me too!" Lorelai called. Luke returned a few moments later with two bowls of chocolate and two of vanilla, though one was considerably smaller than the other, and another large tea towel over his shoulder. "Since when do you eat ice cream?" Lorelai asked as she accepted her bowl.

"Since it's a million degrees outside," he said, handing Rory her bowl before he tied the towel around Charlie's neck and handed her the little bowl of ice cream. "Since went do you have curly hair?" he asked her. She may have been coming into his diner for years, but her hair had always been straight, tied back or wavy. He had never seen it in tight ringlets like it was today.

"Since it's a million degrees outside and humid," she informed him as he pulled a fourth chair into the little circle under the air vent. "Where's you plaid?" she asked him. "We had it on good authority that you were still wearing it."

"Yeah, when it was cool this morning," he said as he enjoyed a spoonful of ice cream. "I took it off before I started to cook."

"But, Caesar was working today," Rory said as she licked the back of her spoon.

"Yeah, but it's too hot to stay back there all day," he said casually as he cast a glance at Charlie. "When it gets like this, we trade off every few hours. Being in the kitchen makes being outside seem cool."

"Well, remind me to add short order cook to my list of careers I don't want to ever have," Lorelai said as she offered Charlie some of the chocolate ice cream."

"Thank God," Luke muttered with a smile.

"Here here," Rory seconded. Lorelai scowled at the pair of them for a moment before she stole some of Charlie's ice cream.

"Where's Jess?" she asked him, hoping she came off as casually as she wanted to.

"Who knows," Luke said quickly with a shrug as he focused his attention on his bowl. "He and that girl are off somewhere doing God knows what." Lorelai cast a glance over at Rory. She wasn't all that surprised to see her spoon hesitate over her ice cream when Luke mentioned Jess's friend. She quickly turned her attention of Charlie who was holding her own with her ice cream. She was making a mess, but she was happy and Lorelai saw no need to change that. The four of them ate in silence for a while longer before Rory's pager went off.

"It's Lane," she said after a moment. "I'll see you at home?" she said as she ate one more spoonful of ice cream.

"Yeah, sure," she said. "Are you gonna be out late?"

"I don't know. I'll be quiet when I come in."

"Have fun Sweets," she said as Rory quickly left the diner. Lorelai watched her go before she turned her attention back to her ice cream that was slowly melting into a chocolate puddle in her bowl.

"How are you?" Luke asked after Rory had left. "Lorelai?" he asked again when she didn't answer. He watched as she stared at her melting ice cream for a long moment.

"I'm . . . I'm okay," she said, eventually looking up at him and offering him a small smile. "Thanks for asking." He nodded a little as he played with what was left in his bowl before he tossed it onto a table behind him and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew she had more to say and if he waited long enough, it would come out. "I don't really know how to feel," she finally admitted. "I'm glad he's finally growing up and taking responsibility. . . "

"You just wish he was taking it with you and not her," Luke finished for her. He watched as Lorelai nodded and quickly focused her attention on her bowl. He waited a moment longer, to make sure she didn't have anything else to say before he leaned forward in his chair. "Hey, about a cup of coffee? Or some iced coffee?"

"Iced coffee? Really?" she asked, perking up immediately. Out of all the drink offers she had ever imagined coming from him, this was definitely not one of them.

"Sure," he replied with a causal shrug. "This seems like a coffee moment, but it is definitely too hot for coffee."

"Definitely," she replied. He got up and headed for the counter.

"Apple juice for her, right?" he called as he started to brew a pot of coffee.

"Always." She smiled a little as she watched him putter around behind the counter. Times like this, she didn't miss Christopher at all.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

So, part 3. Wow, season 3 is tons more popular than the first two season. Should I be surprised by this?

* * *

Fortunately for everyone, the heat wave broke just as Rory's final year at Chilton crept closer. The weather cooled until it was a comfortable late summer that allowed people to sleep through the night. By the time the first day of school rolled around, Rory finally felt like she had caught up on all the sleep she had lost while Stars Hollow had been sweltering.

Rory woke up slowly that morning and savoured the feeling of being well rested. When she finally opened her eyes, she jumped slightly when she saw her mother sitting in the chair that faced her bed.

"How long have you been sitting there?" she asked as she finally sat up in bed, rubbing at her eyes a little.

"Not long," she replied casually with a shrug and a smile, her arms crossed over her chest. "An hour. . . And a half," she tacked on.

"Why?"

"Because," Lorelai replied casually, the smile never leaving her face.

"'Cause why?" Rory asked again.

"Because today is the last first day of high school you're ever gonna have!" Lorelai lamented as she finally got up out of the chair that sat in the corner of Rory's room. "I'm just all sentimental and you're grown!"

"I'm not grown," Rory insisted, hoping this conversation was going to end soon. It was too early to do this, as far as she was concerned.

"Yes you are, you're all grown up and soon you'll be going off into the world," she said as she wandered towards the bed, unfolding a piece of paper as she went.

"Not yet," Rory assured her.

"But soon," Lorelai countered as she came over to stand beside the bed. "And after you spread those wings and fly away, I won't have the opportunity to give you this," she said with a smile as she handed Rory the piece of paper she had just unfolded as she finally sat on the bed beside her.

"What is it?" she asked as she turned it the right way round and started to scann down the page. Lorelai quickly explained that it was Rory's bill and had been itemised by year and income ratio.

"One thing that's painfully obvious here. . . You've used an extraordinary number of diapers," Lorelai said with a smirk as she leaned over and pointed to the specific number.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Rory said as she handed the paper back to her mother and threw her covers off as she crawled off the end of the bed and tossed her robe on.

"Really, it's cost a fortune. What were you using all those diapers for?" Lorelai asked as she looked at the list once again and shook her head.

"I was building my_ make mommy go away_ castle. Where's Charlie?"

"Still asleep," she said quickly before she launched into her story about Kirk asking her out the day before. Rory quickly began to snicker and mock until Lorelai reminded her of the fact that Kirk was a fear biter. Lorelai quickly concocted a plan where they'd escape in the middle of night and vanish to get away from Kirk. "So," Lorelai said as she and Rory were seated at the table, eating Rice Crispies and Marshmallows, shower momentarily forgotten. "You have your swearing in ceremony today."

"At three. Do not be late," Rory warned, pointing her spoon at her mother. After Lorelai had agreed that she would be there on time, Rory dropped the bomb that Emily would be there as well.

"I'll see you this after noon," Lorelai grudgingly replied after Rory wouldn't uninvited Emily.

"At three," Rory reminded her as she took one more spoonful of cereal before she stood up from the table.

"There goes my little vice president, off to rule the world," Lorelai quipped.

"Well, Paris will be ruling the world. I will be holding her keys," Rory clarified with a smile.

"I'm still proud of you."

"I appreciate it," Rory assured her with a nod.

"Honey, you have power, brains, now all you need is a dimwitted, drunken or drug-addicted relative to constantly humiliate you while you serve in office," Lorelai replied brightly with a smile.

"Will you work on that for me?" Rory asked with a smile of her own.

"Two steps ahead of you," Lorelai assured her as she turned back to the cereal and Rory headed up to shower. Lorelai turned her head to watch Rory go before she returned her gaze to the paper in front of her, the smile never leaving her face.

"Charlie's up!" Rory yelled down a few seconds before Lorelai heard the shower turn on.

"Kay," Lorelai yelled back as she had one more spoonful of cereal before she headed upstairs to deal with her youngest. "I can hardly wait until I can eat a full meal again without having to deal with some one else's issues in between bites," she muttered as she climbed the stairs. "Hi baby!" she said brightly to the sleepy toddler as she picked her up and got her ready to face the day.

* * *

Rory's swearing in ceremony had gone very well. Lorelai and her mother hadn't killed each other, which counted as a victory in itself, but when her mother had asked to have lunch with her, at Luke's no less, she had been more than a little shocked.

By the time the lunch date rolled around, she was more than a little stressed too, even though it had only been 24 hours.

"You look almost green," Sookie commented when she was done ranting about the requested vegetarian menu. Lorelai sighed and shook her head a little as she finished things up on the computer before turning her full attention to her friend.

"Well, Charlie has a brain eating parasite again and she's also decided that she hates Heather," Lorelai explained as she leaned on the front desk.

"The nanny you hired? I thought Charlie loved her."

"Well, she did," Lorelai said with a forced smile as they pair headed to the kitchen. "She's teething again and miserable and mad that I won't take her to work with me any more and all of that finally came to a head and she threw a tantrum the likes of which I have never seen, possibly ever."

"I'm sorry," Sookie said as she handed her a mug of coffee. Lorelai accepted it as she took at seat at the table in the corner of the kitchen.

"And, to top it all off, I have to have lunch with my mother, at Luke's today." Lorelai watched as Sookie frowned as she thought about this.

"Why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. And then, after that pleasantness, I get to come back here and deal with Michel before heading home to deal with my little brain parasite infested kid and my over stressed vice president. Have I told you how much I love my life right now?" she asked as she stood up, mug held tightly in her hand.

"It'll be fine," Sookie said with a smile as she went back to her cooking.

"Yeah well, you're not the one who's stuck in the house with them," she finished as she headed back out to the desk for a while. "Do you know how glad I am that it's no longer to hot for coffee?" Lorelai asked before she disappeared out the door, Sookie's laughter ringing in her ears.

* * *

"Oh God, Luke," Lorelai moaned when he started to mock her about Kirk asking her out. "Any day, but today."

"When he found out you had wo . . ." he trailed off when he saw the look on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately. Normally, she'd be taking his good natured ribbing in stride while firing back her own insults at him.

"In the span of 24 hours, Charlie has realised that yes, she is 15 months old and has opinions of her own, has started to cut at least 2 teeth, has decided she hates the new nanny I just spent AGES hiring and is only happy when she if chewing a finger off of my hand. Rory is freaking out not only because this is her senior year, but because politics are far more political than she expected in high school and I'm supposed to be having lunch with my mother right now and we haven't spoken a civil word to each other since I told them Christopher was marrying his girl friend."

"So, keep the coffee coming, huh?" he asked after a moment.

"If you really like me, you'll slip some whiskey in it," she said with a flirty smile as her mother came into the diner.

"Why are you begging for alcohol at 1 in the afternoon?" she asked immediately as she stood beside the table and stared at her. Luke quickly filled Lorelai's coffee cup and one for her mother before he quickly high tailed it back to the safety of the counter.

"Because I'd feel stupid drinking at home?" she offered lamely. The pair stared at each other for another moment before Lorelai finally invited her mother to sit. Emily quickly apologised for being late and made a bit of a show of wiping off a chair before sitting down. Lorelai watched the whole performance with mild amusement. The pair had a rather awkward conversation about Caesars salad and coddled eggs before Luke finally returned to the table.

"Mom, please, is this really a 'me and you' lunch?" Lorelai asked after Luke had left the table after taking their orders. "No hidden agenda?"

"Of course not," Emily replied calmly as she inspected the silver ware on the table.

"Okay, fine," Lorelai said, relaxing slightly as she took a sip of coffee.

"I talked to Christopher," she said calmly, still looking at the silver ware on the table.

"What?" was all Lorelai could exclaim when she heard this. She quickly put her coffee cup back on the table before she dropped it.

"I called him last week, we talked for a very long time, and I have to tell you, he is not in love with that woman," Emily replied sincerely, finally turning her attention to Lorelai who was staring, almost unblinkingly at her mother.

"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered as her mind raced and she tried to figure this all out.

"He never came out and said it, but I could tell from his voice," she said emphatically. "How would much he would rather be with you, Rory and Charlie."

"Are you out of your mind?" Lorelai finally got out, still in disbelief that she was having this conversation with her mother. She was becoming so agitated by this conversation that her hand gestures were becoming choppy an erratic, not flowing smoothly like they usually did.

"I think you need to talk to him," Emily said with out hesitation, ignoring Lorelai's previous comments as she straightened her silver ware on her napkin.

"And that would be a yes," she replied to herself when her mother ignored her.

"All he needs is to hear that you want this, too," Emily said, almost pleading with Lorelai as she leaned closer to her daughter to emphasise her point.

"Mom, what the hell are you doing calling Christopher?" she asked her, trying to steer the conversation into a direction that she could control.

"Well, somebody had to."

"No, somebody didn't have to!" she said, trying not to yell in the diner, but failing slightly. A few of the patrons turned briefly, only the tourists stared because they weren't used to Lorelai Gilmore's outbursts.

"Oh, I certainly wasn't going to just sit by and watch this situation explode," Emily said, quickly taking over the conversation again. "You two belong together. It took you years to figure that out, and now that you finally have it, you can't let it go away just because of a little complication."

"Mom, his girlfriend is pregnant. That is more than a little complication," Lorelai spilled out, ignoring the people who were staring at them. Why was this so hard for her to understand and accept?

"And Charlie is not even a year and a half old. What on earth is he doing with that woman anyways?" Emily said, continuing on full steam ahead as if Lorelai hadn't said anything at all.

"I don't know, but it's none of our business."

"Charlie and Rory are our business and they need a father in their lives and if you would simply swallow your pride and go to him, they'd have that father!" Emily exclaimed. She quickly got a hold of herself as she leaned across the table. "This woman is trying to trap him, don't you see that? You can't let that happen," she whispered harshly at her daughter.

"Mom, this is none of your business," she said as she quickly stood up from the table. "Do not get involved in this, I mean it. Butt out! Don't call Christopher and talk about me or us or the girls. Just stay out of it!" she all but yelled at her mother.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I have to get back to the inn," she said tensely as she grabbed her bag and dug out a few dollars to cover the coffee and the meal she didn't eat.

"Do not walk out on me," Emily said, a deadly serious tone in her voice. Lorelai squeezed the bills tightly in her hand for a moment.

"Mom, I am not gonna discuss this with you now or ever. I would love for you to respect that but I know you, so give Christopher my love," she finished as she tossed the money on the table and headed for the door. By this point in the conversation, Luke had given up on trying to ignore them and instead, had begun to follow the conversation, so he at least had some idea of what Lorelai was ranting about when she came in later that evening.

"A family life doesn't just happen, Lorelai. You have to work for it," Emily called as Lorelai glared at her mother before she stalked out of the diner. "You have to fight for it! Lorelai, come back here!" Emily called to her as the door slammed behind her. Luke frowned a little as he watched Lorelai leave the diner. He quickly shifted his glance to the rest of the diner, the patrons still silent and their attention split between watching Lorelai stalk away and Luke's reaction. He quickly knocked an empty plastic cup off of the counter and the diner sprang back to life.

* * *

Lorelai sighed hard as she pulled the jeep into the Crap Shack's drive way at the end of the day. She sat behind the wheel for a moment as she gathered her wits around her before heading in to deal with the angry toddler inside.

"Oh my God," she said when she got into the house and saw the disaster that greeted her. Toys, books, blankets and basically anything that wasn't bolted down was strewn around her living room and Heather, her nanny, was in the middle of it trying to straighten up. She held her hand up to stop Heather's apology as she took in the disaster area one more time. "It's okay," she finally said. "I take it she stopped screaming at some point?" she asked as she tossed her purse onto the couch and started to help clean up.

"Yeah," Heather said as she dumped an arm load of toys into the toy box Luke had dropped off a few days ago. "She wouldn't go down this morning."

"Fabulous," she responded as they fell into a light conversation as they finished putting the living room back together. "So, tomorrow at 8:30 again?"

"Can't wait," Heather responded with a smile as she gathered her bag and sweater and headed out. Lorelai took one more look around her living room before she headed upstairs to check on Charlie. The toddler was passed out in her crib, but Lorelai had a feeling it wouldn't last. She didn't sleep well when she was teething and that went double when molars were involved.

"You and me, we'll each do a shot of tequila when you wake up. I bet it'll make us both feel better," she remarked off hand before she headed to her closet to change. She quickly tossed on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt when she heard Charlie start to wake up.

"Momma," she heard from behind her. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the sleepy little girl standing up, rubbing at an eye as her hair flew in six different directions.

"Hey little girl," she said as she came over. "I heard you had a rough day." Charlie shifted impatiently as she held her arms out, waiting to be picked up. Lorelai eventually acquiesced and lifted the toddler into her arms where Charlie promptly snuggled herself down into the crook of Lorelai's neck before cramming a few fingers into her mouth to chew on. Lorelai headed to the bed and sat down as she dug around on the bed side table until she came up with the orajel tube that was nearly empty. "Open," she said to Charlie as she squeezed some out onto a finger. Charlie sat up and obediently opened her mouth and the pair each let out a sigh of relief as the numbness settled over Charlie's gums. As Charlie settled herself back against Lorelai's shoulder, the front door slammed shut and the pair jumped.

"Mom?" Rory called from down stairs.

"Coming!" she called back as she stood up and headed down stairs. "How was school?" she asked as she came to the bottom of the stairs.

"Between Francie and Paris, I expect the drinking to start by Friday," she said as she dropped her bag by the door and trudged towards her room.

"That much fun, huh? You and Charlie should get together and commiserate about all the unfairness in the world," she said with a smile as and Charlie followed Rory to her room. Lorelai leaned against the door frame as she watched Rory pace the length of her room while she undid her tie, tossed off her sweater and pulled her shirt from her skirt.

"They're all about the back door deals and manipulation. Deceit and treachery . . . Why did I do this again?" she asked as she finally stopped pacing and stared directly at her mother.

"Because Harvard gets all excited over things like this?"

"Right," Rory said as she threw open her closet and picket out a pair of jeans.

"Change and we'll go to Luke's."

"Ok," she said as she tossed the pants on the bed before finding a shirt to wear as Lorelai and Charlie wandered slowly towards the living room.

* * *

The walk to Luke's was pleasant. Lorelai and Rory chatted about nothing as they went, mostly because Lorelai knew that if she pressed Rory about the political goings on at Chilton, she'd want to know how Lorelai's lunch with Emily had gone.

Lorelai and Rory grinned as they headed into Luke's and to their table in the back, happy to see that the diner was mostly empty. This meant they'd get served fast and didn't have to worry about many prying ears.

"So, I have to get back to the Inn when we're done," Lorelai said to Rory as the three of them sat in Luke's waiting for him to deliver their plates.

"I have to study," Rory said as she straightened her silver ware.

"Study as in you can keep half an eye on the little miss or studying as in making mommy nervous?" Lorelai asked as she picked Charlie's cup up off the ground and wiped the moth piece off before giving it back to her.

"Making mommy nervous," Rory replied. "Big beginning of the school year test," she said as she folded her arms neatly on the table in front of her.

"What are they doing testing you so early in the year?" Lorelai demanded. "They didn't start this early the other years."

"This is senior year," Rory replied calmly.

"And that makes it ok?"

"Apparently," Rory replied with a shrug.

"And I can't change your mind?"

"Unless you plan on slipping her a sedative so she sleeps the whole time, no," Rory said with a shake of her head. She frowned a little as she watched Charlie purposefully knock her cup off of her tray, just to watch it clatter to the ground.

"Unless you plan on slipping who a sedative?" Luke asked as he brought their plates over to the table as Rory reached under the table for the cup.

"Charlie," Lorelai replied with a sigh as she moved stuff off of Charlie's tray to make room for her plate. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm working," he replied gruffly.

"Can you watch her?"

"Watch her do what?"

"Watch her be 14 months old?" Lorelai asked hopefully with a smile.

"No," he said immediate The fact that he hadn't walked away from the table was not lost on Lorelai.

"Please, please, please Luke! If you say no, I'll have to leave her with Rory and then she won't be able to study and then she'll fail this big test and that will pull down her average and then Harvard won't want her and then all of this will have been for nothing!" Luke crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to Lorelai go on and on. Lorelai pulled out the big guns, pouty face and batting eyelashes before she finally saw him cave.

"For how long?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

"A couple of hours," she said. "I'll be back by 8:30 at the latest."

"That is more than a couple of hours," he pointed out, starting to regret even inviting himself into the conversation instead of walking away.

"It is? Huh, I guess it is," she said casually. "Thanks Luke," Lorelai said as she started to eat.

"Thanks Luke!" Rory threw in with a smile of her own as she too started to eat.

"I don't know why I even bother to say no," he muttered as he headed back to the counter, shaking his head the whole time. Lorelai and Rory watched him go, giggling away, before they turned their attention back to their plates.

* * *

As Friday rolled around, Lorelai's apprehension about having to see her mother began to grow again. After their lunch at Luke's, Emily and Lorelai had avoided calling each other. Lorelai avoided her mother because that was she naturally did, and it served her well. Emily avoided her because she knew that if she called, Lorelai wouldn't take her calls anyway. Rory found herself stuck in the middle, once again, acting as a go between, trying to get the two back onto amiable terms.

"Ugh, I'm not going," Lorelai said as she came down he stairs and headed to the mirror that sat over the table in the living room. She searched her face for some sign of oncoming illness so that should could stay home. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck.

"You are going," Rory said firmly as she came up behind Lorelai, a necklace in her hands. She fumbled with the clasp for a moment before she finally got it open.

"I should just stay home with Charlie. I'll supervise her while she chews on everything and anything she can get into her mouth," she said confidently as she held up her hair so Rory could do up the necklace.

"You're both going," she said again as she fumbled with the clasp again.

"She has done this to me for the last time," Lorelai said, changing the subject without pause. "From now on, I'm not giving her any information about my life at all," she finished firmly as she took one last look at herself in the mirror before she straightened her necklace. With a sigh, she headed off to find Charlie who had wandered out of the living room at some point.

"As opposed to all the details you've heaped upon her in the past?" Rory asked as she gathered a few of Charlie's toys that had taken up residence by the phone. She tossed them into the bag as her mother continued to rant about Emily. The conversation abruptly stopped when they heard Kirk's voice over the answering machine. They snickered when it confused him and he hung up and they quickly gathered up Charlie, who had been found under the kitchen table, and their assorted bags and left when he called back a second time and began arguing with his mother.

* * *

Lorelai complained about what was going to happen at dinner the entire ride to Hartford. Rory had given up arguing with her after 10 minutes and Charlie was fairly oblivious to the entire conversation. Car rides still tended to lull her off to sleep and tonight was no exception.

"This is going to be horrible," Lorelai muttered once ore as she stood out side of the house, a sleepy Charlie dozing in her arms.

"Relax," Rory said as she gently pulled her mother towards the door.

"We can still go home. If you really love me, we'd go home," Lorelai said, stopping dead in her tracks a few feet from the door. Rory rolled her eyes and gave her mother's arm a firm tug to get her moving, or at least stumbling, towards the door again.

"Well, I guess I don't really love you then," Rory said flatly as she reached out and rang the door bell.

* * *

Fortunately, dinner was going much more smoothly than Lorelai had anticipated. Emily was downing the white wine, trying to cope with an incompetent maid and Lorelai was loving every minute of it. Rory, while amused by her grandmother's antics towards the maid, was also trying to keep her mother's antics under control, if only to keep the dinner light and somewhat pleasant.

"Ok, so salad?" Sarah, the maid, asked as she came in with plates. Charlie let out a cry as Lorelai plucked the toy from her hands, but quieted when she saw the maid with the plates.

"Thank you, Sarah," Emily said politely, settling the napkin in her lap.

"Oops, big bell," Sarah said when they all heard the door bell. The salad she had been placing in front of Emily never even touched the table before she had straightened up and headed to the front door.

"Sarah, the salad!" Emily called after her as she quickly left the room. "Sarah!" she yelled agin, turning slightly in her chair, only to see the maid disappear around the corner. "Pass the wine, Lorelai," she said with a frustrated, but resigned sigh.

"You want a straw with that?" she asked with a smirk as she passed the wine bottle down the table. She glanced over at Rory who was trying to hide her smile, but failing.

"You're enjoying this?" Emily asked as she quickly filled her glass again and took a large sip before she had even put the bottle back on the table.

"Well . . ." Lorelai said as she thought it over. "Yeah," she answered with a large smile.

"Lor, I need to talk to you," Christopher announced as he strode into the room. All heads in the room immediate whipped around to look at him.

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai hissed at him.

"You won't return my calls!" he exclaimed. The pair argued back and forth for a moment, Lorelai taking the time to accuse Emily of bringing him here before she turned her attention back to Chris. She quickly pushed away from the table, tossing her napkin onto her plate before she quickly ushered him into the hallway, leaving Rory, Emily and Charlie still at the dinner table. As the yelling in the other room grew louder, Charlie began to fuss and Rory quickly got up, moving to the other side of the table to rescue her from the high chair. She stood, Charlie in her arms, listening to their parents arguing.

"Rory," Emily called after her as she saw Rory stalk out of the dinning room. Rory ignored her and continued on her way, Charlie still in her arms.

"I didn't call you back because I didn't want to. Me. Mom had nothing to do with it," she yelled at Chris as she came to a stop in front of him. Lorelai tried to calm her down and to take Charlie from her, but Rory was too invested to really pay attention to what was going on. "You promised me. You promised me at Sookie's wedding that this was going to work, that you were going to be there, you promised me, promised us!" she said firmly, rubbing Charlie's back as the toddler started to cry.

"Honey, please understand," Chris started, taking a step closer to her to try and calm both of his girls down.

"No, I always understand, and I don't want to understand! I don't even really want to talk about this right now. We've got mom and that's all we need. Go be somebody else's dad!" she yelled at him, partly because she was mad and partly to be heard over Charlie.

"Don't say that," Chris pleaded. Lorelai sympathised with him for a moment when she saw the hurt in his eyes, but only for a moment. He had made the situation he found himself in by his own choice when he had run back to California after Charlie was born.

"We're going upstairs. Call us when he's gone," she said to Lorelai before she fixed Chris with a hard stare and headed upstairs with Charlie so they could both calm down. Christopher and Lorelai both watched as Rory stomped up the stairs before they turned their attention back to each other.

"She did not get there by herself," Chris said, pointing up the stairs.

"Hey, have you met your daughter? She could get anywhere by herself! She could get to the third dimension by herself!" she shot back. Chris countered, wanting to go and talk to her, but she talked him out of it, telling him that Rory and Charlie both needed to calm down of things were going to end exactly the same way. "You need to leave, right now," she finally said, an eerie calm settling over her voice.

"This isn't right. They need their father," Chris said as he stepped a little closer to Lorelai. A shocked look came over her face as she took a step closer to him so they were toe to toe.

"I know they need their father, I've been telling them they need their father! I've been telling Rory that since she was Charlie's age!" she yelled at him. This had been one of the things that she had yelled at Chris that time he had shown up, out of the blue, when she had been pregnant. She had told him she wasn't going to do this again, make excuses for him, but here she was, making excuses for him. "But Rory feels like her father bailed on her and Charlie barely knows you! They're mad and hurt and I can't change that in three minutes!" She finished, poking a finger into his leather motorcycle jacket.

"Do you think I like this situation?" He shot back, not really sure what else he could say.

"Oh God," she muttered as she took a step back from him and rubbed her hands over her face Chris took advantage of the lull in the discussion and started to try talk his way back into her good graces.  
"I didn't want things to turn out this way!" he fired back at her when she wouldn't listen to what he was saying.

"But they did turn out this way!"

"But I didn't want that!" Chris yelled back at her, his face a bright red. Maybe if he actually admitted that he didn't like the way things were, he'd get more leverage with her. She took a few deep breaths before she continued, trying to calm herself a little before the next round.

"Christopher, is Sherry still pregnant?" she finally asked him, trying to keep her calm.

"Of course she is," he said, wondering why she would even ask that.

"Are you still with her?" she asked again, staying calm.

"Yes," he admitted without hesitation.

"Are you gonna marry her?" she asked, her volume dropping slightly. She was pretty sure she knew what the answer was going to be, she just wanted to make sure.

"Yes," he answered after a pause.

"Then, honey, we are where we are!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat. "Accept it!" Lorelai told him harshly when he started to bargain with her. Chris ignored her and kept going, still hoping to change her mind. "Don't you understand that I can't talk to you because it hurts. Talking to you really hurts!" Lorelai yelled at him, trying to keep the tears at bay. Truth be told, he was more than a little surprised to see how much this was upsetting her. "Standing here right now is killing me, okay? Don't you understand that?" She finally got out, not understanding at all why he couldn't figure out that he should just stay away and that they'd call him when they were ready. By this point, Emily had heard enough and calmly made her way into the foyer. She stood a but behind Lorelai and announced that Christopher needed to leave, putting an end to the conversation.

Chris and Lorelai stared at each other for a moment longer, chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath. He eventually slipped out the door, Emily ran off to see what was burning and Lorelai stood in the foyer for a moment, collecting herself before she headed slowly upstairs, wiping at a few stray tears that had managed to make their way down her cheeks.

"Hey," she said with a tight smile as she found Rory and Charlie hanging out in the room Emily had put together for Charlie.

"Momma," Charlie said tearfully as she picked herself up off the floor and toddled over to Lorelai.

"Hey baby," she said quietly as she sat down on the floor and welcomed Charlie into her arms.

"Dad's gone?" Rory asked as she came over.

"Dad's gone," Lorelai confirmed as she lost herself in the smell of her baby, throwing an arm over Rory's shoulders to hold her close. The trio sat in the pink room for a while longer before they pulled themselves up and headed back down stairs to finish their dinner.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Yes, I do know that is eating emails again.

* * *

The ride home after dinner was a quiet one. Neither Lorelai or Rory really wanted to talk about what had happened, or what had been said so, the radio was turned on and they were all left to work out their feelings on their own. As they finally pulled into their drive way, Rory was the first to speak.

"I'm hungry," she said. Lorelai and Rory looked at each other for a moment before they got out of the jeep and started walking back towards town.

"We'll pick up coffee, burgers and fries, you get the rest from Doose's," Lorelai said as she and Charlie headed towards Luke's.

"Meet you back at home," Rory said as she headed towards the market.

"Doing a little shopping?" Rory heard as she put a few more items into her basket. She turned to see Jess standing there. The pair of them exchanged awkward pleasantries for a while until talk of Jess' girl friend, Shane, came up.

"It just surprised me, that's all," she said, trying to play it cool, playing with some of the boxes that were already in her basket.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Jess asked again, never taking his eyes off of Rory who was still playing with the boxes in her basket and shifting slightly from foot to foot.

"Because of what happened at Sookie's wedding," Rory replied as she put her full basket on an empty check out counter so she could devote her attention to Jess. Jess quickly began to question Rory about what happened to all the letters she wrote him, and why did she just run off to Washington.  
"And really, why the hell was it so important that I not tell any one you kissed me? You're not with anyone else," he threw at her. "Were you ashamed of it?" Rory floundered for a minute as she tried to come up with an excuse.

"I needed time to think," she finally said, hoping she came off as confident. "I don't normally go around kissing random boys."

"Random?" he asked, cocking an eye brow.

"You know what I mean!" she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "But, it doesn't really matter either way, does it? I mean, you're with Shane, you two seem to be happy, at least judging by the amount of time your face spends glued to hers." The pair stared at each other for a moment. "I have to go," she said as she grabbed her basket and pushed past him. Jess stayed where he was, turning slightly to watch her go before he sighed and quickly headed out the back door.

* * *

"Some night, huh kid?" she asked Charlie after they watched Kirk slink off. Lorelai had turned him down as gently as she could.

"Duke?" Charlie asked quietly, still quite reserved after the performance in Hartford.

"Definitely," she said as she pulled Charlie a little closer against her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She smiled a little as she felt her relax in her arms. "Hey," Lorelai called out as she walked into the diner.

"Hey," he said with a bit of a smile as he saw the pair of them walk into the diner. "Where's Rory?"

"Picking up a few supplies at Doose's. Speaking of which," she said as she took a seat at the counter, Charlie still resting against her, sitting on her lap. "2 cheese burgers, extra cheese. Fries, coffee, onion rings and cherry pie. We need a comfort meal."

"Why?" he asked as he passed the order to Caesar.

"Christopher showed up at my mothers house tonight. He poured his heart out and we had a huge fight. Lets just say that it ended with Charlie in tears, Rory angrier than I have ever seen her and me almost in tears. Right now, we need comfort food and lots of it." He frowned a little as he poured the coffee and listened to Lorelai's story.

"I'm sorry," he said as he handed her a cup of coffee to drink as they waited for the order to finish. "Juice?" he asked Charlie when he saw her peaking at him.

"Otay," Charlie said as Lorelai turned her around so she was facing Luke.

"Okay," he replied, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile as he filled the pink sippy cup and screwed the lid on tight before he slid it over the counter to her. "What?" he asked as Charlie continued to stare at him as she grabbed the cup from the counter.

"Up," she said, holding the cup in one hand and reaching out to him with the other. Luke frowned for a moment before he reached out and pulled the toddler into his arms. Lorelai and Luke were both more than a little surprised to hear Charlie heave a sigh as she settled against Luke's shoulder, her free hand flung around his neck as she played with the collar of his plaid shirt.

"Oh well," she said, playing with the rim of her coffee mug. "He'll stay gone for a while now, things can get back to normal." A silence fell over the trio, broken only when Caesar called out that the order was ready. Lorelai looked at the bags and drink tray before she looked up at Charlie, juice cup in her mouth, as she started to doze on Luke's shoulder.

"You take the food, I'll take her," he told her as Lorelai gather the bags up.

"We dropped the car off at home," she told him as she stood up and pulled the drink tray to the edge of the counter.

"Caesar, close for me," he called to his help as he walked out from behind the counter.

"Sure thing," Caesar called, poking his head out from the kitchen.

"Just let me grab my coat," Luke told her as he headed upstairs, Charlie still in his arms.

"I'll go find Rory," she said as she slipped out of the diner. "Hey kid," she said to Rory, a fake brightness in her voice. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I'm done," she said as she stalked past Lorelai, her bag held tightly against her chest.

"Rory, hey," she called after her, reaching out and grabbing her arm. "What's wrong?" she asked as she stopped Rory from stalking off.

"Jess is what's wrong," she said angrily. "Where's Charlie?" she asked, changing the subject once she noticed that her sister was no where to be seen.

"With Luke, he's gonna walk home with us. Charlie co-opted his shoulder and wouldn't give it back. Do you want to talk about this?"

"No. I've had enough. After this thing with Jess and the thing with Dad, I'm done."

"I'll meet you at home then," she said as she let go of Rory's arm.

"Fine," Rory said as she continued on her way home. Lorelai sighed as she watched her eldest head home. As much as she hated to admit it, the sooner Rory got together with Jess the sooner things were going to smooth out for the teenagers.

"Okay, let's go," Luke called as he came to a stop beside her, Charlie now contentedly playing with the collar of his coat, cup firmly in her mouth.

"Yeah, let's go," she said, some what distractedly as she and Luke started off on their way. They were quiet at first, but soon fell into an easy conversation.

"Where's Rory?" he asked after a while, when the conversation started to lag.

"She headed off ahead of me," she said, shifting the bags a little. "Is she heavy?" she asked, noticing that Charlie was almost asleep.

"Not bad," he commented. "She's getting big."

"She is," she said with a smile. Lorelai reached up and brushed some hair away from Charlie's face. She shifted on Luke's shoulder, moving her head so her face was buried in his neck. Lorelai managed to catch her cup before it hit the ground. "Thank you," she said as they neared the house.

"For what?" he asked, glancing over at her.

"For . . . I dunno, for being you. For lugging around 18 pounds of little girl home from your diner and for baby sitting and for offering to do things, even though you don't have to." The pair came to a stop on the porch and they just kind of stood for a moment, staring at each other.

"It's no problem," he finally replied. "Lorelai. . . "

"I should go," she finally said, breaking the moment they were having. "Get her to bed, get in the house before Rory starts to worry."

"Oh, yeah," he said, trying to cover his disappointment. "Here," he said as he moved Charlie into her arms and opened the door for her. "See ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," she said as she took a step inside as he left the porch. She watched him go and she sighed before she walked into the house, wondering if they had just had a moment or if she had imagined it.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Rory asked a few days later as she, Lorelai and Charlie sat in Luke's.

"What do you mean?" she asked her daughter, finally tearing her attention away from a certain diner owner. She folded her hands on the table as she concentrated on Rory.

"You're staring at Luke," she said in a matter of fact tone. "And not in an 'I need to get his attention for a coffee refill' way."

"We had a moment," she admitted quietly. "At least I think we did. I'm not completely sure." Rory nearly dropped her fork when she heard this.

"What? When?" she demanded. Lorelai shushed her quickly before the rest of the diner heard them. The both looked over their shoulders to make sure that no one was snooping before they pulled their chairs a little closer together.

"A couple of nights ago, when Luke carried Charlie home," Lorelai admitted as she leaned a little closer to Rory so she could whisper.

"Ok," Rory said as she mulled this over. "What does this mean?" Rory asked after a long moment. She watched as Lorelai chewed on her bottom lip as she mulled this over for a moment.

"I have no idea," Lorelai finally said, shaking her head a little before Charlie demanded her attention and she was pulled back to the real world. Rory sat back in her chair and considered what her mother had just told her. She knew that the two of them had been dancing around each other for years, but there was a difference between dancing around and actually getting together. They had discussed it a few times, mostly in hypotheticals, but she still wasn't sure how she felt about things.

She did know how she felt about Jess and Shane and she quickly turned her attention back to her plate of pancakes when the pair walked in and quickly headed up to the apartment.

* * *

Lorelai sighed a little as she took in the boxes of baby clothes she had been boxing up over the past week. With fall settling in on the Hollow, Lorelai had finally broken down and gone through Charlie's clothes from the last year. She had put a couple of outfits aside that was going to save in Charlie's baby box before she checked the rest over for stains as she decided what the toddler could wear a little longer and what no longer fit her.

"We are totally going to have to go shopping for you this weekend," Lorelai said as she glanced over at the little girl who was busy fishing something out from under her crib. Lorelai winced when she heard the clunk that was Charlie's head hitting the frame as she tried to crawl out.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she headed over and pulled Charlie out by her feet. The little girl rolled over onto her back and looked up at her mother for a moment before she held out the toy she had rescued. Lorelai couldn't help but laugh and shake her head as she picked the baby up and headed downstairs.

"Ready?" Rory asked as she sat on the edge of the couch.

"We are," she said as she tossed Rory a sweater for Charlie. Rory held it open as Lorelai slipped it on her. The three were soon out the door and on their way to Luke's, debating the merits of Lorelai's horrible Schnitzel joke.

"Oh man, it's packed in here," Lorelai lamented as she and the girls walked into Luke's.

"I guess we counter it," Rory said. "What?" she asked when she saw Lorelai frowning.

"I thought the high chair was off limits," she mused as she glanced at all the couples and their babies before they settled at the counter.

"What?" Luke asked gruffly. They bantered back and forth for a moment as Luke served them Coffee and milk. "Every weekend, the same stupid group comes in here and takes up all my tables and every chair they can get their sticky hands on, and they do that. That sit, they stand, one person holds a kid, another person holds a kid," he ranted.

"You don't mind being one of those people who holds a baby when it's Charlie," Lorelai pointed out with a smile. She looked over at Rory and wasn't surprised to see a similar smile on her face.

"Charlie's different," he said gruffly.

"Right," Lorelai said as they all turned back to watch the performance at the tables for a while longer. Luke didn't miss the glance Lorelai and Rory shared over his comment about Charlie.

"Okay, they have to go," Luke finally decided as he placed his order pad and pencil on the counter with a little more force than necessary before he moved out from behind the counter.

"Come on Luke," Lorelai said as she turned slightly on her stool, Charlie still in her arms. The two stared at each other for a moment before he shifted to the right so he was standing in front of the Gilmore Girls again.

"No no no, I've had enough. Let them go not spend money at Al's, I'm through," he said as he stepped out from behind the counter and, with determination, started to head towards the tables of babies and parents. Lorelai and Rory smirked as Luke headed off. A few steps from the table, Luke stopped and turned around, heading back towards Lorelai and Rory. "Is that woman doing what I think she's doing?" he asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Lorelai and Rory both peaked back to see what Luke was looking at. One of the women was getting ready to breast feed.

"Well, I can't be a hundred percent sure but. . . Oh yeah, that's lunch," she said with a grin that Rory returned.

"Why, why do they do this? This is a public place, people are eating here," Luke demanded, splitting his attention between Lorelai and the baby tables.

"They sure are," Rory threw in, she and her mother still grinning away, as she watched the babies a little longer.

"This cannot be sanitary."

"I agree," Lorelai said seriously. "You don't know where that thing's been." A snicker slipped out of Rory's mouth after hearing that.

"This is a diner, not a peep show!" Luke exclaimed, not seeing the humour in this. "I mean, you never did this," he finished, gesturing towards Lorelai.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked him, slightly taken aback by the direction the conversation was going in.

"You never . . ." his hands waved around near her chest. "With her. . ." his hands moved up to Charlie. "Never even asked if you could," he finished as he finally dropped his hands to his sides.

"So, if I had nursed Charlie in the diner, it would be okay for them?" she asked him slowly, leaning against the counter and eyeing him, her lips twitching in a smirk. Charlie strained against the arm her mother had around her waist as she tried to get a hold of something she saw on the floor.

"No! I mean, but. . . I have to do something!" he said, fumbling for a moment. "I just can't stand here and let the lactating continue." The fact that there was a hesitation, as well as a volume drop, before the word lactation was not lost on the girls.

"Luke," Lorelai exclaimed, smacking him with the back of her hand.

"Gross!" Rory threw in. He took in the equally disgusted looks on both of their faces.

"I'm gross? I'm not the one exposing myself for the entire world to see. That's it," he said, taking one last deep breath before he began to march over to the tables again. Lorelai and Rory quickly turned their heads to watch what was sure to be a great, classic Luke performance. They both frowned a little when they saw him pause after only a few steps before he turned around and headed behind the counter again.

"You go make her stop," he asked, now safely in his 'sacred space'.

"I'm not going over there," Lorelai told him with a chuckle in her voice and a smirk on her face as she battled Charlie to keep her hands away from the coffee cup.

"Why not? You're a woman. With a kid under 2," Luke pointed out, like this was the answer to all of his problems.

"So what?"

"So. . . You have the same parts," he said confidently. "I'm also gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you . . . Finished using them fairly recently." Rory buried her head in her hands when she heard this and Lorelai looked over at and saw her shoulder shaking.

"Way too personal Luke," Lorelai exclaimed as she finally pushed her coffee cup in front of Rory so she didn't have to worry about Charlie getting her hands on it.

"You shouldn't be scared of it," he said, not understanding why she wasn't just going along with this. It made perfect sense to him.

"Scared of it?" she asked him, trying to puzzle out what exactly was going through his head. "You know, you're gonna be a bachelor for a really long time," she assured him. Rory snickered away behind her hand, having finally looked up at Luke again.

"I am being taken advantage of here, and I do not like being taken advantage of. I hate this!" he muttered. Rory snickered as she looked over at Lorelai. Luke didn't seem to mind being taken advantage of when it was Lorelai doing the taking. Charlie began to fuss and do her best impression of a limp noodle, trying to get away from her mother. She was bored and hungry and looking for something to do. Luke grabbed a spoon and handed it to Charlie. She took it and began banging it on things.

"Good call," Lorelai said as she nudged Rory to pull a quieter toy out of Charlie's bag while she wrestled the spoon away from the toddler. Charlie took one look at the toy on the counter before she went back to banging the spoon on the counter, making sure to keep it away from Lorelai's hands.

"No!" Charlie yelled as she wrenched the spoon away from her mother. While the group was battling with Charlie, Jess came down the stairs and into the diner. He took one look at the group at the counter before his eyes focused in on the group at the tables.

"Oh jeez!" he exclaimed when he saw the nursing mother. Charlie, momentarily distracted by Jess lost her hold on the spoon.

"Okay, so that was kind of funny," Luke said with a smirk as Jess dashed back up the stairs. He took one last look at the group of parents before he heaved a sigh and started to take orders.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked a few days later as she, Rory and Charlie slid into seats beside Luke and got settled for the town meeting. Luke shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Taylor's up to something," he replied. "He's been consulting with people and spending a ridiculous amount of time staring up at the street lights." Lorelai and Rory both just kind of looked at him for a moment. "What?"

"And how much time are you spending staring at Taylor?" Lorelai asked as she juggled Charlie in her lap for a few moments before she put her on the ground. The 16 month old stood between her mother's legs for a moment before she pushed past them and stopped in front of Luke. He looked down at her as she put a hand on his knee, but he made no moves to pick her up.

As he and Lorelai continued to banter about Taylor and Luke's fascination with him, Charlie took in the gathering crowd. She crept closer to the aisle, hand still on one of Luke's knees as she scanned the crowd for people she knew. She spied one of the other toddlers in town and the pair stared each other down before the little boy wandered over. He was a few inches taller than her and slightly older. After a few moments of this, Charlie decided she didn't like the looks of him and quickly shuffled back into the row of seats, keeping half an eye on him until his mother came and picked him up.

"Up," Charlie finally decided. She looked up at Luke expectantly. He wasn't very good at this game yet. "Up," she said again, slightly more insistent as she patted his knee a little. "Up!" she said a third time as she attempted to climb up herself. This finally got his attention and he reached down and lifted her up.

"You're demanding," he told her as she made herself comfortable on his lap and reached over him for the banana half Lorelai was holding out for her.

"Yum," she said ignoring Luke's indignation as the town meeting starting. Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head as he focused on what Taylor was going on about. All he needed was another Gilmore Girl's finger to be wrapped around.

* * *

As the quartet left the town meeting, Charlie still happily sitting in Luke's arms, they were more than a little surprised to see Jess drive by in a beat up car. Rory made a hasty exit soon after, saying that she needed to study, leaving Lorelai, Luke and Charlie to wander a little further down the road together.

"You had no idea he had a car, did you?" she asked him as he put Charlie on the ground and grabbed her hand to keep her from running off.

"Not in the least," he admitted, still not taking his eyes off of the car.

"Ah, way to have a handle on things, Luke," she told him as she shot him a look. They argued about the car and where he got the money for it for a while longer. "Maybe the money was a gift from someone . . . Who doesn't know it's gone yet," she added as she turned to look at him with a grin.

"Thanks," he said, unimpressed by this thought.

"I'm helpful, aren't I?" she asked as he leaned down and picked up Charlie.

"Bye," he said as he held the toddler out to her mother.

"Bye," she said with a smile as she took the toddler and headed towards home. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Luke approach Jess about the car. She gave a little sigh as she hitched Charlie up a little higher on her hip as she continued home.

"Down," Charlie said after a while and Lorelai obliged, letting the toddler jog ahead of her as they neared home.

"Not so fast," Lorelai called after her when she started to get to far ahead. Charlie giggled as she kept going and Lorelai couldn't help but smile. "Come on, mail call," she told the toddler as the house came into view. Charlie turned abruptly and headed to the mail box, reaching up to the door on it while Lorelai pulled the mail out. She cycled through it until she found a piece of junk mail. "Off ya go," she said as she handed it to Charlie. The little girl looked at it for a moment before she headed towards the house, slowly climbing up the stairs on her hands a knees.

"Hello!" Lorelai called as she held the door open for Charlie. She burst into the house and immediately headed to the living room.

"I'm in here!" Rory called back as she accepted the mail from Charlie and helped her with her sweater.

"Wow, you beat us home by two minutes and your nose is already in the books," she muttered as she dropped Charlie's bag by the door and corralled the little girl to take her shoes off.

"I can go from zero to studying in less than sixty seconds," Rory said as she handed the letter back to Charlie before she turned back to her books.

"Very impressive," Lorelai said, her attention focused back on the mail. She actually read who they were addressed to this time. "Mail call," she told Rory as she handed her an envelope. "The mortgage payment. You mind picking it up this month sweetie, baby, cookie, honey?" she asked casually.

"No, not at all," Rory said as she opened it. Her face fell slightly as she read what was in it. "It's an invitation," she said absently.

"Hm?" Lorelai asked, some what distracted by Charlie who was trying to get her mother's attention.

"Oh," Rory said as she realised what it was an invitation too.

"Is it the White House again?" Lorelai asked with a smile as she opened Charlie's letter and handed it back to her. Charlie grabbed it and immediately plunked herself down on the floor to read it. "Those boys never give up," Lorelai said as she came over to sit on the couch beside Rory.

"It's to Sherry's baby shower," Rory said as she read the rest of the invitation.

"Who?" Lorelai asked, a confused look on her face as she opened an envelope.

"Sherry. Dad's Sherry," she said again. Lorelai's brow furrowed. She quickly dropped all of her mail into her lap before she plucked the invitation from Rory's hands.

"You're kidding," she said as she quickly scanned over the invitation. "P.S," she read. "Feel free to bring Charlie along as well," Lorelai said in a fake sounding voice.

"I missed that part," Rory said as she took the invitation back. She read the hand written PS before she read the information again. "It's at her and Dad's house on Sunday." The two looked at each other for a moment. Lorelai quickly commented how Sherry must not know they were on the outs with Christopher. Rory fidgeted for a moment before she admitted that she and Chris had started to talk again a few weeks ago. When she saw the look on her mothers face, Rory quickly started to apologise for starting to talk to Christopher again without telling her.

"It's okay Rory, you don't need to apologise. Charlie, stop eating the paper honey," she called out. Charlie looked over at her before dropping the now soggy envelope and walking over to the couch.

"Fine. What should I do about this?" she asked, gesturing towards the invitation that was now sitting in her lap.

"It's your call," she said as she pulled Charlie up on her lap.

"I guess being in dad's world automatically means being in Sherry's."

"And it is your little half brother or sister she's carrying," Lorelai pointed out as Charlie tried to squirm her way into arms length of the invitation.

"I already have a sister, I don't need another," Rory said, a sullen tone to her voice, as she offered Charlie the invitation.

"Trust me, ignoring something like this does not make it go away."

"It's gonna be one of those brunchy quichey things where I don't know anyone, and it's all the way in Boston." Lorelai sighed a little as she sent Rory a look. She was making excuses and they both knew it.

"You'll know Charlie. . . And I'll drive you there if you want. I'll do some Boston shopping while you quiche it up," Lorelai suggested with a smile. She glanced down at Charlie, who was trying to figure out how to get the miniature green stripped jumper off of the invitation. Rory eventually agreed to go.

"Oops," Charlie said suddenly. Rory and Lorelai looked down at her and couldn't help but smile as they watched Charlie try to put the jumper back on the invitation.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry, not a new chapter. A pretty big continuity error was pointed out to me, so I swooped in and fixed it. :)

Ok, a few notes this time.

1. I'm assuming the lack of reviews is because of the whole email alert thing. I mean, 4 reviews for Chap. 4? sad. My goal, as always, is 10 reviews for Chapter, but I will settle for 7. 4 makes me sad.

2. From now on, when the alerts go down, I will not be posting a new chapter until they go up again. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really only mostly in this for the reviews. I like the ego stroking, it does a psyche good.

* * *

Rory sighed a little as she and Lane walked through the square slowly on their way back from the baby store. Stars Hollow was one giant reminder about her upcoming midterms. She knew that the square was really decorated for hallowe'en and Thanksgiving, but the decorations always appeared as studying for midterms was beginning. 

Rory listened, half heartedly, to what Lane was saying as she mentally started to schedule study time. As Lane finished her story, she obliged her with a chuckle before she turned to her.

"Do you think I got a good gift?" Rory asked, opening the bag to look in at the set of receiving blankets she had bought.

"You're the one with the baby sister," Lane pointed out as he looked over at Rory.

"Yeah," she said. "But most people gave outfits, toys and money." Rory closed the bag again and dropped her arm back to her side, letting the bag bang against her leg as they walked.

"Baby blankets are fool proof," Lane said with a shrug. "I remember at least 2 separate occasions where Charlie went through at least 3 blankets a day."

"I guess you're right," she said. "And the yellow was a good colour?" She was still a little insecure about this.

"Nice and neutral," Lane said. "Why are you so insecure about this?"

"I don't know," Rory admitted as she peaked into the bag again. "I'm just having a moment. Can't I have a moment?"

"Of course you can!" Lane exclaimed as she threw an arm over Rory's shoulders. The pair walked towards Luke's, but paused when they saw Jess driving by. As Rory stood and stared at Jess, hoping to bore a hole in his head, Lane started asking Rory how she felt about her father essentially going and getting a new family. "You're not listening."

"Sorry. What?" Rory said as she finally tore her eyes away from Jess's car and focused on Lane.

"Doesn't this whole thing with your dad and his new family bother you?" Lane asked again. Rory finally tore her eyes away from Jess and his car.

"It doesn't matter," she said with a shrug as they started to walk again. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh. Okay," Lane said, more than a little confused as they continued towards the diner.

* * *

"Aren't baby shower balloons supposed to reflect the sex of the baby?" Lorelai asked as she stopped the jeep in front of an apartment building with balloons tied out side. "Blue for boys, pink for girls?" she asked. 

"Momma! Momma go!" Charlie said excited, pointing at the balloons.

"You would think," Rory replied, looking out the window as they both ignored Charlie for the moment.

"What's green for, alien?" Lorelai asked with a smirk.

"I'll ask when I go in," Rory said, still staring at the door.

"Momma!" Charlie yelled from the back seat, kicking her feet against anything she could reach. She had absolutely no plans to be ignored, especially when there were balloons involved.

"What?" Lorelai asked as she turned around and looked into the back seat. Charlie grunted and pointed at the balloons. "In a minute," she said, hushing the toddler as she turned her attention back to Rory. "We're all set, right? Anytime you want you, just send up a flare."

"I will," Rory assured her, turning in her seat to look at her mother.

"Even if I'm half-naked in a changing room, I'll just grab everything and rush out."

"You making a half-naked entrance would be funny," Rory agreed with a smile and a nod. Just as Lorelai was about to assure her that Charlie's bag was packed and ready to go, Sherry popped up at the passenger side window.

"Hi!" she said, a large smile on her face.

"Whoa!" Rory exclaimed, she and Lorelai both jumping a little. Charlie stopped fussing for a balloon and focused her attention on Sherry. Sherry quickly began working to convince Lorelai to come into the baby shower as well. Though Rory and Lorelai valiantly tried to talk Sherry out of this, Lorelai eventually gave in.

"Really?" Sherry asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied, a forced smile on her face. "Let's have a party." Rory looked over at her mother for a minute, a look of disbelief on her face. Lorelai offered Rory a quick shrugged before they both turned their attention back to Sherry.

"Yay!" Sherry said, bouncing up and down in excitement while she clapped her hands.

"Ooh, watch it, you'll jiggle that thing right out of you."

"A mother's perspective, thanks," she said as she helped open Rory's door.

* * *

"These are Christopher's daughters, the famous Rory and Charlie and I did a little arm twisting and got their mother, Lorelai, to come in too." Rory and Lorelai forced a smile as Sherry's mildly drunken friends all greeted them. They were quickly shown the newly organised CD collection before being ushered into the living room where they were handed drinks and given a place to sit on the couch. Charlie took in every one around her and clung a little tighter to Lorelai. She worked hard to keep her jaw from dropping when Sherry told her she was the only mother in the room. 

"Oh, I'm the only mother here? None of you have kids?" Lorelai asked in disbelief as she looked at the crowd of 30 something women who were sitting in Sherry's apartment.

"Who's got the time?" Maureen asked.

"Or the guy," Jody replied.

"There aren't that many Christopher's in the world," Gail finished.

"That's true," Lorelai said, trying to keep a happy tone in her voice and a smile on her face. Rory glanced over at her mother, just to see what she was thinking. The fact that she clutched Charlie a little tighter wasn't lost on her.

"You have to give me your list of books, okay?" Sherry asked with a perky little smile as she accepted a small plate from one of the women.

"Books?" Lorelai asked.

"The ones you read when you had Rory. Maybe the ones you read when you had Charlie would be better, they'd be more recent."

"Oh, well. . . I think I was reading 'Deenie' with Rory and possibly 'I'm With The Band' when Charlie came along," she replied as she glanced over at Rory who was smirking a little as well. Rory offered Charlie a hand and was a little surprised when she grabbed it and pulled herself out of Lorelai's lap and into Charlie's. She understood once Charlie's hands went for her necklace.

"No parenting books?" Sherry asked, sounding more than a little shocked.

"No parenting books," Lorelai agreed. More child rearing talk was batted around for a while until Jody called out that they should start playing the games that were planned. Rory, Lorelai and Charlie quickly jumped up off the couch as two of Sherry's friends began to move it.

* * *

"You're not going to play?" Sherry asked Lorelai as she sat off to the side with Charlie. 

"Oh, I play feed the baby three times a day, every day," she said with a smile as she held onto Charlie who was continuing to feel out the women in the room. Sherry laughed at this and Lorelai forced another smile on her face as Charlie began leaning towards the baby bag at that on the floor.

"Speaking of which," Lorelai said when they pulled out the dirty diaper game.

"Oh, right. There's a changing table in the back room. Second door on the right," Sherry said brightly as she grabbed Rory's hand and brought her into the circle. Lorelai offered a smile and a wave to Rory when she saw Rory send her a pleading look.

"Thanks," she said as she grabbed Charlie, a diaper and the container of wipes before she headed to the back room. "Have I thanked you for being here lately?" she asked Charlie as she wrestled her tights down.

"Go," Charlie replied, trying to roll off the table. This room was quiet and had several toys she had never seen before. She had better things to do than have her diaper changed.

"Hold on," she said as she went through the motions as quickly as she could. "Okay, go," she said as she put Charlie on the ground. She took a moment to get her balance before she took off to one of the baskets full of stuffed toys. Lorelai quickly took a good look at the room and frowned when she saw all the green that was everywhere. All the furniture had a shade of light green paint while the bedding was all a darker shade. "What is up with this?" she asked out loud since it was only her and Charlie in the room.

Charlie looked up from the basket of toys she was emptying and looked up at her mother.

"I mean, green? Who paints a baby room green? Shouldn't it at least be a nice pastel yellow or something?" Charlie quickly pulled a toy out of the bin and gave it to her mother before she went back to the bin and started pulling everything out. Lorelai looked at the green frog that was now in her hands before she moved her gaze to her kid. "You're right, the frogs are totally cute," she muttered as she sat herself down on the floor, resting her back against the wall as she watched Charlie emptying the basket of toys.

* * *

"Are you two coming back?" Sherry asked as she poked her head into the room. Lorelai and Charlie had been gone for a while and people were starting to wonder where they were. 

"Ah, yeah," Lorelai said from her position on the floor. Charlie looked up at Sherry before she went back to pulling things out of the basket. "We just need another moment or two."

"She can bring the toys out to the living room," she said brightly. She smiled a little as she watched Charlie furrow her brow as she examined the toy that was covered in tags. "Those are supposed to be all the rage," Sherry said quickly. "Babies apparently love tags."

"Charlie never cared about tags," she said, feeling a small bit of pride that her youngest wasn't conforming to expectations. "I think we'll hang out in here a little longer, she's not used to big groups of people," she lied. Lorelai watched as Charlie studied the ball covered in tags for a moment longer before she dropped it on the ground with the rest of the toys.

"Right, right," Sherry said as she lowered herself into the rocking chair in the room. "I'm glad you're here," she said. Charlie paused to look at Sherry, not all that impressed that she was invading her time with her mother.

"Good," Lorelai said, turning back to Charlie, handing her the little bear she was still holding. Charlie looked at the bear and eventually took it. She gave it a squeeze before she dropped it onto the pile with the tag ball.

"Chris would be happy you're here, too," she said, starting to rock a little. "He has been so amazing the past few months, so involved with the baby."

"Good. Good," Lorelai said absently as she pulled Charlie into her lap for a moment.

"No, go," Charlie said as she wiggled herself free. Lorelai tried to tune Sherry out as she continued to go on and on about all the things Christopher was doing for this baby but it wasn't going well. All she could do was think about how unfair life was.

"He's been unbelievable," Sherry gushed.

"That's great, Sherry, really," Lorelai said, finally turning to look at the other woman in the room.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to thank you," she said quietly.

"Thank me?" Lorelai asked suddenly. Charlie paused in her attempts to dig the last few toys out of the very bottom of the basket. The tone in her mother's voice had changed and she had picked up on it. She looked at her mother for a moment before she turned her attention to Sherry.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to tell you, actually. Chris and I had a rocky stretch. I thought for sure he was out the door. I mean, he was so distant and hardly ever talked. I wasn't even sure if I was gonna tell him about the baby. I thought I was either going to go it alone or not at all. I mean, I was kind of in the same position that you were, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said as she welcomed Charlie into her lap again.

"I decided that I would tell him before I made any decisions, and that was the weekend he was with you and your girls, remember? There was a wedding or something. . . " She said, a confused look coming over her face as she tried to remember exactly where Chris had said he'd been.

"Yes, I remember," she said tensely.

"Well, I don't know what happened or what you said, but whatever it was, it worked. He came back a changed man. All of a sudden, he was so attentive and devoted, and so willing to make it work. He said that he'd missed out before, and he didn't want to miss it again. And I just credit a good portion of that to you."

"Yes, well, I can be very persuasive," she said as she started to toss the toys back into the basket. Charlie watched what was going on for a moment before she pushed away from her mother and started to help.

"Well, I should get back out there," she said with a smile as she stood up. "You two go a head and stay in here as long as you like, ok?"

"Great, thanks," Lorelai said with a smile. As Sherry closed the door, Lorelai groaned and flopped back against the wall. She grabbed the tag ball and threw it against the door for good measure as she sat against the wall and kicked herself as she realised that it really was her fault that Christopher was playing house with Sherry and not her. She cracked an eye open as the door was pushed open again and Rory wandered in. She paused and looked down at the ball before she picked it up and wandered over to Lorelai. Rory took a seat on the floor and listened as Lorelai melted down about things Sherry had told her.

"Mom," Rory finally said after a while.

"Come on. Green's the new pink?"

"It's stupid," Rory admitted.

"Thank you," she said as she tossed the last of the toys back into the basket.

"Let's go," Rory said as she stood up and opened the door. Lorelai gathered the supplies she had brought in and ducked into the bathroom to toss the diaper, Charlie trailing behind her with a stuffed toy in each hand, before they headed back out to the baby shower.

* * *

The drive back to Stars Hollow was quiet, mostly because Lorelai had nothing to say. Rory peaked back at Charlie who was tucked into the car seat, her blankie clutched tightly in her hand and a pacifier firmly in her mouth as she stared out the window, trying not to fall asleep. 

"You're okay to drive, right?" Rory eventually asked.

"I barely drank a thing," Lorelai replied quietly.

"I'm talking about your mood," Rory clarified as she tapped her nails on the Tupperware container resting on her lap.  
"My mood is fine," she said tensely, glancing over at Rory for a second. The pair fell into silence again for a moment. "Move those things, will you?" Lorelai asked, breaking the silence. "They're not the most fragrant food in the world." Rory picked the container of devilled eggs up from her lap and looked in at them.

"We shouldn't have taken them," she said.

"We had no choice," Lorelai said with a shake of her head.

"She was insistent," Rory agreed as she held the container up so she could look at he eggs.

"Take the devilled eggs! How many times did the woman say it? And then her drunken friends hear it and they're all shouting Take the devilled eggs!" Rory couldn't keep the small smile off of her face as she put the container back in her lap, setting it closer to the car door than Lorelai.

"Every one of those ladies was slobbering drunk." The pair bantered back and forth for a while longer until the conversation turned to Lorelai's want for the catharsis she had been unable to find at Sherry's apartment.

"Stop the car," Rory said suddenly and Lorelai jammed on the breaks.

"What? Why?" she asked as she checked on Charlie who had finally fallen asleep before she focused on Rory.

"You want catharsis?" Rory asked, a somewhat evil looking smile on her face.

"Yes," she said hesitantly, not sure where Rory was going.

"I know what'll do it for you."

"What?"

"Jess' car," she said with an evil smile. "It's perfect."

"We can't egg his car," Lorelai said, the disappointment evident in her voice.

"Sure we can!"

"Doose's is closed and we don't have any eggs at home." Rory held up the container of devilled eggs and patted it a little. "You want to devil egg Jess' car? And how is that gonna make me feel better about Sherry?"

"Because it's active! It's aggressive! It's destructive, but not too destructive! I don't know. . . Can you make something up?" she asked hopefully. Lorelai considered this for a moment.

"Let's do it," she said as they jumped out of the jeep. Lorelai quickly unzipped her window. "Before Charlie wakes up." They dashed over to the car and pulled the lid off of the container and started to hurl the eggs at the car. As they delighted in the sound and feel of the eggs, they both found the catharsis that they needed. "That's it?" she asked when they were out of eggs all too soon. They both looked into the container to make sure that it was really empty.

"All out," Rory said as she put the lid back on the container.

"Damn that Sherry for not sending more home with us!"

"Don't lose your catharsis."

"Right, sorry!" she said as they joked about hearing sirens and quickly ran back to the car. After a couple of attempts to squeal away from the scene of the crime, they gave up and made the noise themselves.

* * *

As Lorelai woke up the next morning, she laid in bed for a moment, thinking over the events that took place yesterday and as she began to feel that same feeling of disappointment falling over her, she moved on to thinking about egging Jess' car and she instantly began to feel better. She sighed as she looked out the window for a moment before she finally sat up and watched Charlie begin to stir. 

She watched as the baby finally sat up and looked around for a moment before the pair focused on each other through the bars in the crib railing.

"Up?" Lorelai asked her.

"No," Charlie said. "Ya," she said again after a moment and Lorelai smiled as she got out of bed and headed over to her.

"No you're not up, yes you want up?" she asked as she picked Charlie up.

"Ya," she said as she settled herself in Lorelai's arms. Charlie was quickly changed before the pair headed back to bed and crawled under the covers to enjoy the quiet of the morning a little longer.

"There you are," Rory said as she came into the bedroom and found the pair reading an old issue of In Style.

"Here we are," Lorelai said as she watched Rory crawl under the covers next to her. "So, yesterday."

"Was. . . Eventful," Rory said as she sat back against the pillows. "Glad it's over. Luke's this morning?"

"Of course," Lorelai said, making no comment about Rory's abrupt ending of the line of conversation. "Go shower, I'll get her ready and then we can trade."

"Deal," Rory said as she slid out of bed and headed down stairs to pick out some clothes. Lorelai watched her go before she turned back to Charlie so they could finish their article on Jessica Simpson.

* * *

"I think she grew over night," Rory said as she held Charlie's hand while they walked to Luke's for breakfast. Charlie pushed her hat up her forehead so that she could see where she was going. 

"Wouldn't be surprised," Lorelai replied with a shrug, shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat. "She's been eating twice her weight recently and that usually means a growth spurt."

"I wonder if he's seen it yet," Rory commented as they walked past Jess' car, still covered in egg. They didn't stay long to look when they caught the smell coming off of it.

"Doesn't look like it. Maybe we should've headed for the border," Lorelai said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"Which one?"

"The one between America and Sephoraland?" Rory chuckled as they continued on.

"Hey Luke," Rory said when they ran into Luke.

"Duke!" Charlie said brightly as she wrestled her hand away from Rory. Lorelai watched as she made a bee-line towards Luke, chattering away to him as she held up her arms to be picked up.

"Hey," he said with a smile as he bent down to pick up the toddler. "Just seeing what the mob scene is," he said, adjusting Charlie's sweater and her hat as he nodded towards the group that was assembling at the edge of the square.

"The protest!" Lorelai exclaimed, her face lighting up.

"We almost forgot!" Rory added, her face lighting up as well.

"Come on!" Lorelai said excitedly as she grabbed Rory's hand and they took off towards the group.

"Go! Go!" Charlie said, pointing towards the group. Luke shook his head and rolled his eyes as he fought to keep the amused smile off of his face as he followed Lorelai and Rory. He and Charlie soon joined the group and rolled his eyes as Babette and Patty gushed over Charlie.

"What's he carrying?" he asked Lorelai, nodding towards the town loner as he came around the corner and headed towards the church.

"Probably a body," Taylor muttered before he turned his attention back to the police officer standing beside him.

"Looks heavy," Rory said, ignoring Taylor.

"Well, bodies are heavy," Lorelai replied, matter a factly, with a smile that Rory returned and Luke tried to keep off of his face.

"That's not funny," Taylor admonished, which only caused more smirking among the crowd. The crowd continued to watch the loners performance and a large groan was emitted when he finally unfurled his banner and it was facing the wrong way. A large moan was heard when the banner ripped before anyone could read it. As the town loner began to yell out what he had been going to protest and the crowd tried to make out what he was saying, Jess left the diner and headed to his car.

"Luke!" he yelled when he saw the eggs all over his car. Luke glanced behind his shoulder and frowned. He quickly handed Charlie off to Lorelai. "Relax," he told the toddler as she protested the hand off before he headed over to see what the commotion was. "Did you see this?"

"See what? What happened?" he asked. Jess quickly began to rant about his car being egged. Luke seized the opportunity to make a few more Wal-Mart jokes, since that was how Jess had come up with the money for the car, before he headed off with the teenager to help him find something to clean the car with.

"Breakfast?" Lorelai asked after the protest had ended and the wind started to pick up, blowing the horrid smell of devilled eggs towards the crowd.

"Anything but eggs," Rory said with a smirk. "I was home all night last night," she told Jess as they walked past him as he started to clean his car.

"So was I. We have alibis and everything," Lorelai added with a smile as they dashed past. Jess frowned a little as he watched them go. His bad mood deepened when he saw Charlie smile and wave at him from over Lorelai's shoulder.

* * *

As October took a firm grip over Stars Hollow, the traditional dance marathon banners began to appear around town and so did Lorelai's mad scramble to find a dance partner. 

"Dilemma," Lorelai said to Rory as the three Gilmore Girls headed towards Luke's for breakfast.

"What?" Rory asked as she made faces at Charlie.

"The dance marathon."

"No," Rory said automatically.

"No what?" Lorelai asked as they approached the diner.

"I will not dance with you," Rory said firmly as she held the door open.

"Not what I was going to ask," she said, sounding slightly sarcastic. "You should have your psychic powers checked."

"I'll put it on my list. So, the dance marathon?" she asked as they headed to their table in the back of the diner.

"Well, unless I find somewhere to stash her over night, I'm going to have to sit this year out."

"Would that really be such a loss?" Rory asked as she dropped her bag on the floor and pulled off her jacket as she sat down.

"Rory! Of course it would be a loss!" Lorelai exclaimed as she took of Charlie's sweater and buckled her into the high chair before taking off her own coat and sitting down. "It would be a lost opportunity to beat Kirk and make him cry."

"You're mean," was all she said as she opened up her menu.

"Know what you want?" Luke asked as he came over, delivering coffee and juice to the table.

"Yes, a dance partner," Lorelai replied as she smiled up at him.

"Sorry, I sold the last one yesterday. How about pancakes?" he said, turning his attention to Rory and Charlie.

"With bacon and sausage!" Rory said with a smile as she closed the menu.

"Fine," Lorelai replied, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with Rory or Luke. "For her too, but no syrup."

"I'll throw some fruit on," he said. "And extra napkins," Luke finished before he headed back to the kitchen.

"He's so good to us," Lorelai said with a smile as she picked up her coffee cup. Rory snickered away as she caught sight of the face Charlie was making. "Twenty bucks if you get her to do that at Friday night dinner."

"I'll consider it," she said as she tickled Charlie.

* * *

"Hey mom?" Lorelai asked near the end of Friday night dinner. "What are you and dad doing next weekend?" 

"Why?" Emily asked as she waited for Richard to bring Charlie back from the study. He had absconded with the toddler and Rory shortly after dinner and they hadn't been seen since.

"Well, the town is putting on a dance marathon to raise money to repair a historical bridge and, well, I'd really love to enter it," Lorelai said as she and her mother sat in the living room. Lorelai tried not to fidget with her hands as she geared up to asked Emily to watch Charlie for the weekend.

"Well, charity work is always very important," she replied.

"It's 24 hours long," Lorelai threw in at the last minute.

"And?"

"How would you like to have Charlie over the weekend?" she asked in a rush. She swallowed hard as Emily stayed quiet. "Think of it as a test run for when Rory and I go to Europe this summer," she added.

"What kind of test run?" Emily asked, casting a critical eye at Lorelai.

"Well, the marathon starts Saturday at 6 am, so I'd leave her here after Friday night dinner and pick her up some time on Sunday." Lorelai fidgeted a little more as Emily thought about things.

"Well, we do have an event Saturday night, but it's being thrown by the Daughters of the Mayflower which means that after 9, everyone is looking for an excuse to leave. Does she have something appropriate to wear to an evening event?" she asked, sounding slightly critical.

"I can get her something," Lorelai replied eagerly.

"Never mind, I'll take her out Saturday afternoon. Lorelai, I would be delighted to keep Charlie for the weekend," Emily said with a very pleased smile.

"Thank you so much mom," Lorelai gushed with a huge smile. "Speaking of the little lady," she said as Richard finally came out of the study with Charlie in his arms, Rory following behind them, already flipping through a book Richard had given her. "What were you three doing?"

"That, Lorelai, is between me and my granddaughters," he said as he handed Charlie to Emily so she could say goodbye as well. "So, what have you two been discussing out here?"

"Charlie will be spending next weekend with us," Emily said happily as she straightened Charlie's dress.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise!" Richard said, a large smile on his face. The group sat and talked for a while longer until Charlie began fuss. Lorelai and Rory packed up soon after, said their goodbyes and headed out to the car.

"Feel free to fall asleep in the car," Lorelai told Charlie as she made sure she was tucked in under her blankie of choice. "I promise not to wake you up when we get home," she finished as she gave Charlie a pacifier. The toddler sighed as she accepted it and rubbed her eyes as she grabbed a hold of the blanket and made herself comfortable.

"So, you're free next weekend," Rory said with a smirk as Lorelai climbed into the drivers seat.

"I am," she said with a small sigh. "And I only had to sell out my youngest to get that way," she finished as she offered Rory a smile.

"Ah, it'll do her good," Rory said with a wave of her hand. "Get her ready for this summer. I mean, 2 months of Grandma and Grandpa is very different from a weekend."

"I don't know who it'll be harder for, me or her," Lorelai remarked as they hit the highway. Rory couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore was a desperate woman. Time was running out to find a partner and she was coming up empty. It was the Wednesday before the dance marathon and Lorelai had begged, borrowed and tried to steal every man in town and none of the would be her partner. Dejected from her fruitless search, she headed home for the night to see her girls and Lane. 

"Ooh, cool, pizza," she said when she walked in and saw Lane pacing the living room with the phone glued to her ear while Rory cut up a slice of pizza for Charlie.

"Shh, she's calling Dave to see if she can hear a girl in the background," Rory said as she put Charlie's bowl on the floor for her. Charlie looked from her mother, whom she hadn't seen all day, to the pizza. Lorelai smiled as the pizza won out and the toddler plunked herself down and began to eat. "Well, what'd you hear?" Rory asked as she grabbed a slice for herself.

"Quadrophenia," she said happily as she came to sit on the couch before helping herself to a piece of pizza.

"Classy, but not date-like," Rory replied before taking a bite of her slice. Lorelai chuckled as she took her coat off and came into the living room.

"Hey baby," she whispered to Charlie as she crouched down and kissed the top of her head before she grabbed a slice of pizza. "Rory, can I talk to you in the kitchen?"

"What's up?" she asked, her slice of pizza still in her hand.

"I think I figured out who can be my dance partner for the marathon," she said with a smile as she pulled three sodas out of the fridge.

"Great! Who?" Rory asked as she accepted them, putting them on the table before she went to the cupboard and pulled out a cup and lid for Charlie. Lorelai stared at Rory for a moment, the fridge door still partially open. "Bye," Rory said as she put them on the table and started to leave the kitchen. Lorelai abandoned the fridge door to grab Rory's arm.

"Come on!" she pleaded as she got her to sit back down at the table.

"Forget it," Rory said firmly. She tried to get up but couldn't when she felt Lorelai's hands on her shoulders.

"Just hear me out. First of all, you love me," she said as she finally let go of Rory before she ducked back into the fridge for a moment to pull out the jug of apple juice.

"Not right at this moment, I don't," Rory informed her as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know how much this contest means to me," Lorelai almost wined as she grabbed Charlie's cup and filled it up. "You'd never fall asleep or chase pie," she said as she screwed the lid on.

"I do not dance," Rory informed her as she grabbed a can of Coke and opened it.

"It'll be fun. We'll get all dressed up, and you're light . . . Easy to hold up when you get tired," Lorelai said as she leaned on the table so she could look Rory in the eye.

"Mom," Rory tried to start again.

"Plus, we got the whole mother/daughter gimmick going for us. The crowd'll eat that up! Please?" she begged as she lost the last of her dignity and started to wine.

"I will ask Paris if we can reschedule the Franklin business. If she says yes, then I will dance with you," she said with a sigh, already regretting this.

"Oh! I love ya!" Lorelai said excitedly, her face breaking into a huge smile as she threw her arms around Rory.

"You should sell cars," Rory grumbled as she grabbed her soda and Lane's and headed back out to the living room.

"I should, shouldn't I?" Lorelai asked with a large grin as she tossed the apple juice back into the fridge before she grabbed her soda and Charlie's cup and headed back out to the living room. "Hello big fancy trophy," she muttered to herself.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

So, Gilmore Girls is canceled. As sad as it is, I had a feeling it was coming, no matter how much I wanted to believe that we'd get another season. Oh well. LL will be left in a good place for fanfiction to finish the job. I have little to no fear about this. As long as the fandom stops grousing long enough to take advantage of the opportunity.

P.S. Good job on the reviews guys! That wasn't that hard now was it?? Just keep up the good work!

P.P.S. Yes, I know the 5 Things That Never Happened To Lorelai Gilmore fic wasn't all happy, but it wasn't supposed to be. Some times, life is dark and twisty and that's just the way it plays out. Thanks to those who read it!

* * *

As Friday night dinner came to a close, Charlie bid Lorelai a tear filled goodbye, not understanding why she was being left with Emily and Richard instead of going home with her. Emily and Richard both assured her that it would all be okay and Rory quickly guided Lorelai out the door before she could change her mind. 

"She'll be fine," Rory assured her as they got into the jeep. "She'll cry for a while and then one of them will distract her with something and the weekend will fly by. Do you want me to drive?"

"No," Lorelai said slowly. "I'm fine. It's just. . . The first time I left you with some one else for the night, you were 7 and sleeping over at Lane's for the first time."

"Well, I survived and if I can survive the Kim house, Charlie can definitely survive the Gilmore house."

Fortunately for Lorelai, 5 am arrived quickly and in the rush of doing her hair and Rory's, she hadn't had a lot of time to think, or worry, about Charlie. Soon, Lorelai was dragging a still half asleep Rory into town so they could sign in, take their physicals and get some coffee.

"Well, I believe three minutes is plenty of time for some coffee," Lorelai said brightly as she and Rory headed into the gym before the dance marathon started.

"Yes, coffee, please," Rory begged, perking up slightly while still kind of hanging off of Lorelai. The pair quickly headed straight to the table Luke had set up.

"Hey, we're dying, load us up," Lorelai said as they stopped in front of his table.

"It isn't ready yet," Luke grumbled as he continued to set up cups. "Who'd you pawn Charlie off on?"

"My parents. What do you mean it isn't ready yet?" Luke didn't answer as he continued to set up his coffee table.

"Mommy," Rory begged, looking from Luke to Lorelai.

"What do you mean it's not ready?" Lorelai asked again after he didn't answer her question. "It's six in the morning. Nothing says coffee like six in the morning," she told Luke with a forced smile. Luke sighed and checked over his shoulders to make sure that no one was looking.

"You did not get this from me," he whispered to them as he handed them a thermos of coffee.

"Then who do we send our kisses of gratitude to?" she asked as they opened it and poured some into a cup for her and Rory to share.

"The eternal question asked yet again," he said sarcastically with a smirk as he went back to setting up. The girls smirked as they shared the coffee and headed out to find a good spot. Rory watched as her mother and Kirk had a moment, trying to scare each other out of competing. The pair watched Kirk and his partner saunter off soon after.

"He has no career, no girlfriend, no pet, no car. He lives with his mother, she won't even let him have his own key. The only thing he does have in his whole lonely pathetic existence is this marathon," Rory pointed out after Kirk had left. "If we win, if we take him down, if we take away that last little piece of dignity, then we leave him with nothing." Lorelai looked at her for a moment.

"I wonder if he'll cry," she replied with a somewhat evil smirk. Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head as Taylor called out the last ten seconds.

* * *

As hour five rolled over into hour six, the girls were still going strong, as was Kirk and his partner. The entire floor turned so they could focus on Andrew and his partner as they broke out into their annual fight and stomped off the floor. The girls snickered in delight as Taylor began calling out about unauthorised people on the dance floor. Rory's face fell as she noticed that it was Jess and Shane. Her frown deepened when he and Shane took as seat on the bleachers right in front of her and Lorelai and started to make out. 

"Well, at least we all know he's good at mouth to mouth," Lorelai quipped, keeping an eye on Rory to gauge her reaction.

"Yeah, we should tell the Red Cross about this," Rory grumbled, keeping her eyes glued to Jess and Shane. She missed the concerned look Lorelai was sending in her direction.

* * *

"I want something that will bring out her eyes," Emily announced to the sales girl. "Simple, elegant, but still retaining that 'little girl' feel to it. No crinoline. She'll also need tights, shoes and hair accessories, since her mother refuses to give her a proper hair cut." 

"Right away Mrs. Gilmore," she said as she hurried off to find some appropriate choices. Charlie sat in the stroller and watched the flurry of activity through unimpressed eyes. Friday night had been rough for her. While her grandmother had no large issues with her need for a blankie, they had battled over her want of a pacifier and Emily had won simply because Charlie had eventually exhausted herself and Emily could leave the room and head downstairs.

"Down," Charlie said as she tried to limp noodle her way out of the stroller. Emily had been pushing her around to various stores and shops all morning, most with breakables on the shelves meaning that she couldn't even get out and walk around. She was bored and restless and wanted nothing more than to go home to her mother and sister.

"In a moment," Emily told her absently as she saw the sales girl come back with two different styles of dresses.

"This is the basic style of most of our toddler dresses that don't contain a crinoline," she said as she presented the dresses to Emily. "Your granddaughter is slightly taller than most 16 month olds, so I would advise buying a dress to accommodate her height and then having the rest of the fit altered."

"Do you alter on site?" Emily asked as she inspected the hem and the lace trim.

"Of course. It'll be ready within an hour." Emily continued to perused the dresses carefully before announcing that it was satisfactory and she wanted to see everything they had in shades of blue, cream and yellow.

"Down," Charlie wined again now that the sales girl was gone.

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" Emily asked as she finally acquiesced and let her out. Charlie sighed in relief as she stood beside Emily and watched the flurry of activity as the sales people bustled around the store.

"These are several styles that are very popular," another girl said as she and several other sales people brought over shoes. "Again, we brought them in just a basic white, but we also carry them in black and in shades that match all of the dresses."

"That style," she said, pointing to a simple Mary Jane. "I want a pair in white and a pair to match the dress. Be sure they don't have a heel. Babies in heels are ridiculous and cheep looking," Emily commented, pleased to hear the sales girl agree.

"Would you like to size them now?" she asked, already beginning to undo the buckle on the shoe.

"That would be fine," she said as she pulled Charlie up onto her lap. Charlie furrowed her brow as she found herself sitting again.

"No," she said when the ales girl started to take off her shoes. "No, no!" she cried again, trying to pull her feet away as well as trying to lean forward to push her away. With Emily's help, they eventually got her shoes off and, fortunately for everyone involved, the sales woman had a good eye and picked the right size on the first try and was soon off to pick out the appropriate colours. "Go," Charlie said as she twisted around to point at the door, her other shoe still not back on her foot.

"We're not done yet. Sit still," Emily said as she turned Charlie around and sat her back down in her lap again as she attempted to put her shoe back on.

"No," she complained as she tried to push Emily's hands away. "Go!"

"The lighter knits," Emily said as the selection of tights was presented to her. "In ivories and creams. Would you sit still?" she asked Charlie again as she started to squirm.

"NO!" she burst out, on the verge of tears. She was tired and irritable and wanted to go home. Emily turned her around so that she was standing on her lap. Emily looked her directly in the eye for a moment.

"Charlotte Abigail, we are nearly done. You will behave until then," Emily told her firmly.

"No! Go!" Charlie called again as she pointed towards the door. "Go, go, go!" she called as she bounced a little trying to get her point across before she dissolved into tears and collapsed against Emily's shoulder, still asking to go in between sobs.

"Oh honestly," she said as she rolled her eyes and went searching through the diaper bag for one of those pacifiers she hated so much. "Here," she said as she offered it to Charlie. "Will you cooperate now?" The toddler sniffled and accepted it before laying against Emily's shoulder again.

"Mrs. Gilmore?" the first sales lady called out to her. "We took the liberty of dressing several mannequins, if you'd just come this way?" Emily followed her to the back of the store so she could investigate the clothing choices.

"This set," she said, pointing to a cerulean blue baby doll dress. "That one as well," she said when she saw the cream Cinderella dress. "You have her measurements?"

"We will have the alterations done within the hour," she said confidently as they headed towards the front of the store again.

"Wonderful. As for her hair?" Charlie pouted at the girl who insisted on running a hand through her curls. She tried to bat them away but they ignored her.

"Anything from a hair band to clips," the girl quickly replied as she led Emily to a display.

"Those," she said quickly, selecting a pair of clips that matched the cream dress. "And that one," she said, selecting a hair band that matched the blue dress. "Wrap them up, I'll be back to get everything when the alterations are done."

"Very well Mrs. Gilmore," she said with a smile as they headed to the counter so the girl could finish ringing everything up and Emily could sign the credit card slip.

"Well, how about some lunch?" she asked the toddler as she tucked her back into the stroller.

"Mmmm," Charlie said, pointing to the baby bag Emily was holding.

"Use your words," she told the toddler. Charlie grabbed the pacifier out of her mouth before Emily could get it.

"Bag!" she finally blurted out. Emily held it open for her and Charlie dug out the blanket she was looking for before popping the pacifier back into her mouth and snuggling down. Her grandmother could do what ever she wanted now, as far as she was concerned.

"You are your mother's daughter, aren't you?" she asked as they quickly left the store and headed to a restaurant that wouldn't have anything on the menu that Charlie would eat.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory were having about as much fun as Charlie was at the moment. If the fun of the Run-Around wasn't enough, trying to fight with Jackson while running around the high school gym was definitely was. The girls quickly collapsed to the floor, breathing hard, as Jackson stalked out of the gym and Sookie followed after him, frantically waving both of their yellow cards. 

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked Rory after a moment when she noticed her leg waving around.

"I'm trying to kick you by I can't reach," she moaned as she finally dropped her leg back to the ground.

"I would help you, but I can't move," Lorelai replied as she laid on the floor, enjoying the feeling of the cool wood against her face.

"Can I owe you?"

"Yeah, no problem," she said as she took a few more deep breaths. "Okay, okay, heart returning to normal. I have to go and find Sookie and Jackson," Lorelai explained as she pulled herself up off the floor. She had to straighten out this fight about kids and interfering that she seemed to have gotten herself in the middle of.

"I'll get us a couple of sandwiches," Rory said slowly as she sat up and held her hands out towards her mother.

"Good idea. This is fun, huh?" Lorelai asked with a big smile as she helped Rory get up off the floor.

"Uh huh, big fun!" Rory replied sarcastically as Lorelai threw an arm over her shoulders as they headed for the doors.

* * *

Rory held her arms out as she walked out of the gym. She enjoyed the cool rush of the wind that blew over her before she heaved a sigh and began to head over to the refreshment station. 

"How's it going?" Lane asked when she saw Rory slog into Miss Patty's.

"I hate my mother," she replied as she wandered over to Lane's table.

"Ah, that good, huh?" she asked with a smile as she continued to scoop the egg-like egg salad onto the bread.

"Well, this is some shindig, isn't it?" Jess asked as he walked up behind Rory.

"What do you want?" she asked, shooting him a withering stare. Jess ignored the stare as he took a look at the sandwiches.

"Well, one of these fine sandwiches would be nice," he said, nodding towards them since his hands were still firmly tucked into his pockets.

"They're for the dancers," Rory told him as she continued to stand in front of the table, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm dancing on the inside," he assured her with a smirk.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

"You have nothing better to do than sit around inside a gymnasium all day staring at a dance marathon?" she asked him, her voice starting to take on an angry tone. She didn't understand why he wouldn't just go home and leave her alone.

"I'm just trying to support my town," he replied smoothly, enjoying the fact that his mere presence was bugging Rory.

"Good, then go back to New York."

"Oooh. . Zing! I've been snapped!" he replied, a sarcastic tone in his voice to match the sarcastic look on his face.

"Go home!" Rory shot back at him again. Jess was about to reply when Shane showed up. He made a big show of putting an arm around her shoulder as he pulled her close to him. His smirk deepened when he saw Rory stiffen. "I need two," she finally told Lane as she tore her eyes away from him. Lane handed them over and watched as Rory stalked out of the studio.

"See you in there!" Jess called after her with a false happiness. "I'm gonna get a soda," he told Shane as he abruptly dropped his arm and stalked away from her. Shane watched him go for a moment before she quickly headed after him.

Meanwhile, things in the gym weren't going much better for Lorelai. Before she had even made it past Luke's coffee table, Sookie and Jackson found her and Jackson had quickly jumped all over her about her conversation with Sookie over their 4 in 4 conversation.

"One kid in four years is crazy," Luke replied after hearing Jackson's want for four in four.

"Hey!" Jackson cried. Lorelai sent him a look over her shoulder as well. Luke fell silent, but kept the smirk on his face.

"Sorry, go ahead, drop another sucker in this mess," he said. Lorelai was unimpressed that his silence had only lasted 5 seconds.

"Okay, raise your hand if you're not helping," she told him as she shot another him a look. Luke shrugged a little and at least had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

"Does anyone here understand that a man has a right to not have his personal life debated in a public forum? I am not Winona Ryder!" Jackson called, his gesturing becoming wilder as he became angrier.

"Well I know that," Sookie said with a small smile as she put a hand on Jackson's arm, trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, Jackson, I didn't mean. . . " Lorelai started before Jackson cut him off again. She sighed and threw her hands up in the air. She wasn't going to be able to apologise if he didn't give her a chance.

"My child-bearing arrangements are between me and Sookie."

"And the Lord," Luke threw in. "Still not helping?" he asked when he saw the look Lorelai was giving him. She shook her head before she turned back to Jackson who was still ranting. The pair left the floor shortly afterwards, before Lorelai had really had a chance to apologise, to argue about this some more in the privacy of their living room. "Oh yeah, they're gonna make great parents," Luke quipped as he watched them go. Just as Lorelai turned to ask Luke a few questions about the whole 'drop another sucker in this mess' comment, Taylor called all the dancers back to he floor and Rory rushed in, holding out an egg-like egg salad sandwich to her.

"Mom," she called to get her attention.

"Let's go," she said, taking the sandwich and offering Rory a smile before she shot one last look at Luke over her shoulder.

* * *

"Emily, where is Charlie?" Richard asked when he saw Emily's arms full of shopping bags, but no toddler. Emily gathered a few more bags before she came to stand in front of Richard.  
"Screaming in the car. That child is her mother's daughter," she muttered as she slipped past him and headed into the house. Richard watched her go before he headed outside to find his granddaughter. 

"What's all this?" he asked her when he heard the crying. Charlie hesitated for a moment as he poked his head into the back seat of the car.

"No! Down!" Charlie cried, pulling at the car seat harness that was holding her in. Richard shushed her as he fumbled with the buckles for a moment before he liberated her.

"I do believe you need a nap," he told the little girl as she settled herself against him, still hiccupping a sob every now and then.

"That child is possessed," she told him as she pointed a finger at Charlie before she spilled out the events of the day. "We are hiring a nanny this summer," she told him as she marched upstairs with the shopping bags.

"Whatever you say, Emily," he called after her as he and Charlie watched her go before he found the abandoned diaper bag. He sat on the couch and pulled it close and let Charlie rummage through it. He wasn't surprised when she dug out a pacifier and a blanket. "How about some lunch?" he asked Charlie as he picked her back up again and headed for the kitchen. As soon as he heard the word 'Bistro' he knew Charlie hadn't eaten a thing.

"Otay," she muttered as she made herself comfortable. At least some one in this house knew the score.

* * *

As the night dragged on the couple began to drop like flies, Lorelai and Rory were still going relatively strong since Luke was keeping them full of coffee. Just Lorelai was starting to glare at Kirk again, hoping to use her psychic powers to make him lose, a familiar blur walked bay. 

"Look who's here," Lorelai said as she and Rory danced/wandered their way over to the bleachers. "Hey Lane."

"Hey Lane," Rory said, perking up slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"My mom went home to bed for a few hours and no one is interested in the sandwiches any more so I came to see you guys. How's it going?" she asked as she stepped a little closer to Rory and Lorelai, offering them a smile.

"How awake does Kirk look?" Lorelai asked. Lane had walked in before she had time to concentrate on anything other than trying to mentally disrupt his ability to dance.

"Slightly more awake than the two of you," she said as she craned her neck to find him on the floor.

"Will you go and trip him or something?" Lorelai asked eagerly.

"Sure thing," Lane replied with a smile as she sat down on the bleachers.

* * *

The function with the Daughters of the Mayflower went far more smoothly than the morning of shopping had. Since Richard had taken pity on her and rescued her from her grandmother, Charlie had glued herself to his side. 

"She's beautiful, Emily," Barbara, a friend of hers, told her as the admired Charlie in her cream dress.

"She is, isn't she?" she asked as she straightened the skirt slightly. "You can't believe how pleased I was that she got Lorelai's looks."

"Christopher is not completely unfortunate in the looks department," Barbara pointed out. "However, he did have uncooperative hair, always all over the place unless it was kept short. She's very fortunately to have Lorelai's curls."

"I agree completely," Emily said as she adjusted some of Charlie's curls. Her hair wasn't very long yet, but there was enough of it that it was now curling into ringlets and would hang in her eyes if it wasn't pulled back. "I just find that there is something so much more alluring about all that dark hair with her blue eyes."

"I can't argue with that," she replied as they shared a laugh before moving on to Emily arduous shopping adventures that had taken place that morning. Charlie sighed a little and turned away from the conversation now that the ladies were no longer adjusting her hair and dress. She quickly began to scan the crowd for Richard.

"Go," Charlie said, patting Emily's shoulder and pointing at Richard. She looked expectantly at her grandmother who sighed for a moment before she waived him over.

"That little girl has you trained," Barbara commented with a smile as he sipped at her gin and tonic.

"It's either this or listening to her throw a tantrum," Emily said as Richard arrived. Charlie all but flung herself into his arms. "That little girl has him wrapped around her finger," Emily commented after Richard had headed back over to his group. "And it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't insist on indulging her in all those horrible habits her mother has let her acquire."

"Didn't I hear that you're going to have her for the summer?"

"Yes, Lorelai and Rory are taking their first tour of Europe," she said as she flagged down a waiter for a drink.

"Wonderful! You can break her of her habits then. She'll be nearly two then, right? Far easier to do once they can say more than 5 or 6 words."

"Of course. I also intend to employ a nanny, a proper one, over the summer. Lorelai suggested I use the one she's hired, but the girl is far to informal. She actually calls her Chuck, as if Charlie wasn't bad enough," she muttered as she accepted a martini from a waiter. Barbara nodded, she knew Emily's views on the names of both of her grand daughters. "I have far too much to do to watch her every moment of every day."

"Probably a wise idea," Barbara replied. "Nannies should be changed frequently so the child doesn't really have a chance to bond with them, especially when they don't adhere strictly to the parents instructions. Establishing a double standard only spells disaster for disciplining in the long run."

"I completely agree," Emily said. "Why do you think Lorelai went through so many?" Barbara bit her tongue when Emily said that. She had heard that Lorelai's nanny's changed so frequently because she was a little hellion that no one could control. Instead, they both turned their attention to Richard and watched as he showed Charlie off to all of his friends. Eventually, they turned their conversation to the DAR and how they could have done this function better.

* * *

"Tell me a joke," Lorelai muttered to Rory as they both leaned heavily on each other, eyes closed as they tried to stay on their feet for the last hour of the marathon. The only couples left on the floor included them, Kirk and his partner and a third couple. 

"Knock knock," Rory got out, not opening her eyes or moving her head from her mother's shoulder. Lorelai giggled after hearing that and Rory joined her for a moment.

"That was a good one," she said, still wearing a smile. "Ow!" she said as she felt her ankle roll suddenly.

"You okay?" Rory asked, finally cracking an eye open.

"No! My heel broke!" she cried as she bent down to pick up the heel. "Damn, these are brand new shoes, too," she lamented as she stared at it, making sure to keep the two of them swaying.

"They were made in 1943," Rory pointed out, ever the voice of reason and logic.

"Well, I just bought them Tuesday," Lorelai lamented as she continued to stare at the silver heel that was in her hand.

"I told you not to wear vintage shoes," Rory said as she laid her head back down on Lorelai's shoulder.

"But the lady at the store said that they hadn't been worn a lot!"

"Yeah, but not a lot in sixty years is still a lot," she said. Lorelai stared at the heel for a moment longer before she worked out a plan to fix it. She told Rory that she was going to use her emergency card and then see if Luke could help her. "If you leave, there's no way I'll be able to stand up on my own," Rory said quickly.

"Ten minutes!" Lorelai cried as she tried to wake Rory up.

"Nighty-night," Rory replied, leaning even more heavily against Lorelai.

"Fine, hold on," she said as she scanned the crowd. "Lane! Lane come here!"

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Hold her up," Lorelai replied as Lane wandered over. She quickly pulled Lane onto the floor before she threw Rory's arms over Lane's shoulder.

"But, my mother," Lane said, gesturing with one hand as the other held Rory up.

"You're doing me a charitable service and you're holding Rory up. No dancing, just shuffling around the floor," Lorelai said, working out the semantics for Lane in case Mrs. Kim did show up.

"But," she tried again.

"I will be back in ten minutes. Do not let her stop or lay down," she said, pointing a finger at Lane. "The team needs you Lane!" Lorelai said, switching tactics and grabbing Lane by the shoulders and shaking her a little.

"What team?" she asked, rather confused. Lorelai paused for a moment as she considered the question.

"Pick a team, it needs you!" she said before she stalked off the floor to find Luke.

"I'm really sorry," Rory said.

"It's okay," Lane finally replied. "I guess this is about as close as I'm ever going to get to one of these." The girls had a small giggle as they continued to shuffle.

* * *

"Listen, uh, I didn't really mean all that stuff I said earlier," Luke told Lorelai quietly as they sat down on the bleachers so he could glue her shoe back together. 

"What stuff?" she asked as she held out the heel of her shoe to him.

"Uh, the kid stuff, you know," he said as he opened the bottle of glue he had gotten from the diner and took the heel from Lorelai

"Drop another sucker in . . " she said as she looked over at him, watching him carefully put glue on the bottom of the heel.

"I don't always have the patience for 'em," he said quickly, focusing his attention on the heel as he plucked the shoe from her hands and pressed them together. "They tend to be squishy and that freaks me out a little."

"And Charlie is. . .?" she asked as she looked over at him with a small smirk on her face.

"She's different, I've told you this before," he insisted as he looked away from her, focusing his attention on her shoe to make sure the glue wasn't leaking.

"You've never really said why though. Why is she so different? I mean, up until recently, she's been pretty squishy and little." Lorelai watched as Luke heaved a sighed, still pressing the heel to the shoe.

"Why are you always pushing this?" he asked her as he turned away from the shoe to look at her.

"Because I'm curious, Luke! You're so staunchly against kids and babies but all Charlie has to do is walk up to you and she's in your arms." Lorelai stared at Luke, waiting for an answer.

"Your shoe'll be ready in a minute," he said, changing the subject. Lorelai heaved a sigh as she considered pressing the subject again.

"Thank you," she replied, changing her mind, but still watching him out of the corner of her eye.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Ok, posting early because the last chapter was posted late. And I'm bored. Amuse me with your reviews!!

Question, was last chapter boring? I'm always worried about that. It's okay to say if you think things are boring.

Oh yes, I have also, finally, found some pictures of Charlie. I have one of Liam (For those of you reading this and the Charlie Scenes) I am still working on Maddy. Will link you kids up, eventually, through my profile.

Thanks for the reviews! Keep reading!

* * *

"He's still there," Rory complained to Lane. Shortly after Lorelai had run off to find Luke, Jess and Shane had walked back in and taken up residence on the bleachers, right in front of Rory and Lane.

"What?" she asked as she looked behind her to see Jess and Shane glued together at the mouth.

"Jess. He's still there. I can't believe he's still there," she complained. Lane rolled her eyes a little. She wouldn't have been surprised if Rory stomped her foot in anger.

"Just ignore him," Lane suggested. She wasn't really sure what else she could do other than tell Rory that she should leave and go home.

"Yeah. You know, this is a dance marathon. You're not supposed to come and sit and watch, you're supposed to dance," Rory continued on, ignoring Lane.

"Would you like to share that with the rest of the class?" Lane asked, nodding her head towards the other spectators.

"What?" Rory asked, finally realising that Lane was talking to her.

"You have been ranting about Jess, on and off, for weeks now," Lane said.

"So?"

"So, you had your chance and you didn't take it!" she said. "You could have been the one he's making out with all over town, you could have been the one he's always parading around but you let him go."

"Lane!" she said, not believing that they were having this conversation. "I have listened to you go on and on about Dave for weeks too!"

"Ah, but Dave and I are at least trying to get together and every second conversation I have with you is not about how much I hate that Dave is making out with his girlfriend!" Lane shot back. This normally wouldn't be such a big deal, but they were both exhausted and punchy.

"Problem?" Jess called form the bleachers. The pair had started to get loud enough so that others could hear them over the music that was blaring over the speakers.

"Nope," Rory said quickly. "Just a little sick of seeing the two of you sitting there. If you're not gonna participate, then why don't you just leave?"

"That works for me. Let's go," Shane said quickly.

"No," was all Jess said as he leaned on his knees, staring directly at Lane and Rory. "I'm not ready to go." Rory made a face and turned her attention back to Lane.

"Well I am," Shane said as she finally stomped out of the gym. Jess kept his attention focused on Rory, he had a feeling that he was close to wearing her down.

"LANE KIM!" The whole gymnasium heard a few moments later.

"Mama," Lane said as she and Rory quickly jumped apart. In the back of Rory's mind, she was glad that the touching rule didn't apply since Lorelai had used her yellow emergency card.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Kim demanded as she strode over to Lane and Rory.

"I was just holding Rory up, no dancing at all," she said quickly.

"Ya, no dancing at all Mrs. Kim," Rory said quickly. Mrs. Kim looked between the girls for a moment before she grabbed Lane and pulled her from the gym.

"So," he said to Rory after Lane was gone. "How ya doin'?"

"Go away," she muttered as she shuffled her feet so she wouldn't be standing still. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look everywhere but at him.

"Am I still bugging you?" he asked, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Not at all," she said, a tenuous hold over her frustrations.

"You sure?" he asked as she pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she tried to pull away from him.

"You wanted me to dance, so I'm dancing," he replied. She sighed and looked everywhere but at him. "So, was Lane right?" he finally asked her.

"None of your business."

"I think she was," he whispered in her ear. "I think you're kicking yourself for letting me go."

"You sure think a lot of yourself, don't you?" she snapped at him.

"I think you think so too," he said. They stared at each other for a long moment. "Think you'd change your mind, given an opportunity?" he asked her as he leaned in close to her ear again.

"Maybe."

"Not good enough," he replied as he pulled her a little closer, if that was at all possible.

"Probably," she finally admitted after a moment.

"Okay," he said. "I have to go and take care of something then," he told her as he released her and left the floor.

"Jess!" she called after him as she turned to watch him go. "Jess!" she called after him again.

"Hey," Lorelai called to Rory as she quickly swept her back into her arms.

"Hey," Rory replied distractedly, her attention still focused on the door that Jess had just walked out of.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked. "I come back after 10 minutes and Lane is gone and you're yelling to Jess."

"Mrs. Kim showed up."

"Oops. I'll call her tomorrow and explain," Lorelai said quickly.

"And Jess. . . I think I'm dating Jess," she admitted as she finally looked at her mother. Lorelai looked at her and could only blink a couple of times.

"What? When did this happen?" she said, not really sure what else to say.

"About 20 seconds before you got here," she answered. Lorelai and Rory looked at each other for a long moment as Lorelai tried to formulate something to say, they heard Kirk start calling to his partner and they turned just in time to watch her slide down his body to the floor. "We won!" She yelled out as she dashed to the podium to tell Taylor. Rory pulled her gaze away from the distraught Kirk and back to the doors that Jess had left through, still wondering if he was doing what she thought he was doing.

* * *

After showing their trophy off to Luke, and any one else who would look their way, Lorelai proceeded to rub it in Kirk's face until he finally stormed off. With a satisfied grin on her face, she headed back to Rory and the girls headed home.

"We need a plan," Lorelai said as she clung to the massive trophy.

"For what?" Rory asked as she shuffled along beside her. She yawned a little as she watched the sun start to come up.

"Well, it's 7 am and we need to re-establish sleeping patterns. Should we jack up on coffee and stay up, or nap or both?" Lorelai asked, finally turning her attention away from the trophy

"Sleep," was all Rory said.

"Naps it is. But no more than 3 hours," Lorelai said. "A three hour nap and then coffee after that until a respectable hour tonight."

"Do we have to pick up Charlie?" Rory asked around a yawn and a stretch.

"No idea. Oh well, my mother will either phone and yell at me or just show up to drop her off," she said as they neared home.

"So, three hours?" Rory asked as they trudged into the Crap Shack, kicking their shoes off and tossing their coats over the back of the couch.

"Three hours," Lorelai said as she looked for some where prominent to display the trophy, but some where that Charlie wouldn't be able to get it.

"I love my bed!" Lorelai heard Rory call out and she chuckled to herself before she gave up and just put the trophy on the coffee table. She could deal with it later.

* * *

_You've reached those delightful Gilmore Girls who are so very important that they're not home. Make it short and sweet._

"Lorelai Gilmore where are you?" Emily voice boomed through the house, cutting into Lorelai and Rory's nap. Lorelai groaned, she knew she should have turned the volume down on that answering machine. "You told me you were going to phone this morning and it's already 9:30. Lorelai pick up your phone."

"Mom?" she asked sleepily, having finally rolled over and managed to grasp the phone that was by her bed.

"Who else would I be? Why didn't you phone?" Emily demanded as she watched Charlie playing with her rag doll.

"What time is it?" she asked as she sat up slightly and turned to squint at her alarm clock.

"It's 9:30, Lorelai and even if you don't care, I have plans today and I can't sit at home all day waiting for you to come and collect your daughter." Lorelai groaned and flopped back on the bed. She should have been able to sleep for another half hour.

"Aren't you looking for antiques today? Stop by Kim's Antiques and drop Charlie off while you're in town," she said, very proud of herself for coming up with an idea that would allow her to stay at home, in her pyjamas.

"Fine," Emily said tensely. "We'll be there within the hour."

"Ok mom," she said around a yawn.

"I also think you should know that you have let your daughter develop some appalling habits," Emily threw in as a parting shot.

"Like what, mom?" she asked. Charlie was almost a year and a half, she wasn't old enough to do anything really appalling.

"Like allowing her to be dependent on a pacifier and a security blanket."

"She's 16 months old and away from me for more than a night for the first time in her life!"

"She can't sit still for more than 3 minutes at a time," Emily continued on, ignoring Lorelai.

"She's 16 months old!" Lorelai shot back again.

"She also screeches. Horrible sound."

"Again, she's 16 months old, mom. I guarantee you that if she could say more than 10 words, there would be way less screeching." The two women fell into silence for a moment as Emily tried to reign in her temper and Lorelai's brain tried to wake up enough to remember what they were fighting about. "Is Charlie there?" she finally asked.

"Of course she is, where do you think she is?" Lorelai rolled her eyes but didn't respond.

"Could you put her on the phone? Please?" Lorelai smirked as she heard her mother sigh. "Hey baby," she said brightly.

"Momma?" came a little voice on the other side.

"Sure is kid. Grandma's gonna bring you home soon, okay?"

"Otay," came the reply before Charlie lost interest in the phone and dropped it to go and find something else to do. Lorelai smiled as she heard the phone clatter to the ground and Emily muttering as she picked it up.

"We'll be there within the hour," Emily assured her again.

"We'll be here," she said as they finally hung up and she glanced over at her clock. She should have had another half hour. With a sigh, Lorelai heaved herself out of bed with a groan and into the shower.

* * *

When Emily and Charlie did finally show up on Lorelai's door step, she was treated to another lecture about the habits Charlie had that she was less than pleased about. The underlying message that Emily would be working all summer to undo them was not lost on Lorelai. She made herself a mental note to at least start to break Charlie of her pacifier dependency before she left her baby at the mercy of her grandparents for the summer.

"Missed you baby," she told Charlie as she held her close after Emily had left.

"Momma," Charlie said as she wrapped her arms around Lorelai's neck and laid her head on her shoulder.

"I know how ya feel kid," she said as she shuffled slowly towards the kitchen, her body starting to stiffen up after 24 hours of dancing. "Time for coffee and real food," she told her as she sat Charlie on the counter so she could make coffee and start toasting some pop tarts.

* * *

"Mmkay. . . Still walking, all's good," Lorelai said to Rory as they shuffled down the side walk on Monday, Charlie clinging to Lorelai's hand. "Huh," she said as she stopped walking and held an arm out in front of Rory to stop her too. Charlie giggled a little as she stopped walking too, she liked this game.

"How are you?" Rory asked as she looked over at her mother.

"I should probably keep moving," she said as they started to slowly head towards Luke's again.

"God, my feet have never been in this much pain before," Rory said as she glanced down at her feet. Things probably wouldn't be so bad if she could have worn a pair of sneakers instead of the saddle shoes.

"Oh yeah, what about that time?" Lorelai asked, kind of wishing she hadn't worn jeans this morning.

"What time?" Rory asked as she looked over at her mother for an explanation.

"The time when I did the thing and your feet were. . . Gotta stop," she said when they saw the hay bales.

"Gotta sit," Rory added as they shuffled over.

"No, go!" Charlie said as she tried to pull against Lorelai's arm. "Duke!" she said, pointing a finger.

"I know, babe," Lorelai said as she tugged back gently until Charlie yielded. The toddler looked towards the diner as she was pulled towards the hay bales. "Thank God you listen to me," she said with a groan as she pulled Charlie into her lap. "Because today would be the perfect day for you to make a break for it."

"What about my feet?" Rory asked, her brain finally focusing on something other than the pain she was in.

"What about your feet?" Lorelai asked as she looked over at Rory.

"I don't know. You were talking about the thing you did to my feet."

"I don't know," she said with a shake of her head. She imagined that she'd had a point to make at some point in the conversation, but she had no idea what it was any more. "Just an observation, you and I do not function well on a funky sleeping pattern," Lorelai said, changing the subject.

"I feel jet-lagged," Rory said as she leaned back against the hay bale. They discussed how they ended up in this predicament for a moment before Charlie reminded them why they were where they were.

"How far is Luke's?" Lorelai asked as she leaned forward to eye the diner.

"It's right over there," Rory said, pointing a finger.

"It looks far."

"Very far," Rory agreed.

"Maybe if we concentrate really hard, our combined psychic powers will move it closer." Rory looked at Lorelai for a moment before they turned their heads towards Luke's and stared hard.

"I don't think it working," Rory said after a moment.

"It's my fault, I'm not focusing," Lorelai said with a shake of her head.

"Yes, that must be why we can't move a half a city block closer to us," Rory replied sarcastically. Lorelai heaved a sigh as Charlie began to fidget.

"Alright then, let's go. On the count of three." The trio sat silently on the hay bales, no one making any moves to count to three.

"Momma go!" Charlie finally called out and with a large sigh and several groans, they finally pulled themselves up and headed towards Luke's.

* * *

Luke looked up just in time to see Lorelai and Rory shuffle into the diner while Charlie broke free and dashed over to Luke. Lorelai started to protest but waved it off. Luke shook his head and scooped up Charlie as she began to babble a story to him.

"Was it worth it?" he asked them, making no moves to return Charlie to her mother. He had visions of her dropping the toddler.

"Totally," Lorelai responded automatically, a large smile spreading over her face.

"Debatable," Rory said. They stood for a moment and considered their options of where to sit. Their normal table was very far away and the stools at the counter would be easier to get up from. "Ugh, and I have to go," Rory said as she looked at her watch.

"No way!" Lorelai complained. Rory showed her her watch. "It took us thirty minutes to get here?"  
"Lot's of limping," Rory replied with a shrug.

"Wow, shoot," she said as she shuffled towards the counter, Rory on her heels. "Luke, we need a couple of donuts and, uh, some of those extra legs Heather Mills is sending over to Croatia," she said as she finally made it to the counter and slid on to a stool.

"Here," he said as she pushed a bag of donuts and a cup of coffee towards Rory before he headed to the back of the diner and pulled Charlie's high chair over. "There," he said after she was strapped in. Everyone looked up when they heard Jess coming down the stairs.

"Hi," Jess said suddenly when he saw Rory.

"Hey," she replied, perking up considerably.

"Hi," he said to Lorelai.

"Hi," she replied, a funny look on her face. She watched as Jess went through the same ritual with Luke. Rory quickly excused herself and so did Jess. Luke and Lorelai both sat through a repeat of the hi ritual, only with bye this time.

"What the hell what that?" Luke asked after both teenagers had left.

"That was episode one of Rory and Jess: The Early Years."

"What?" he asked as she dug around behind the counter for Charlie's cup.

"Rory and Jess are together," she said as she casually folded her hands on the counter top.

"When did this happen?" he asked as he handed the cup to Charlie, now filled with milk, before he poured Lorelai a cup of coffee.

"At the dance," she said as she accepted the coffee.

"I was at the dance, how come I didn't know about this?" he asked her.

"Because you're you," she replied simply before taking a sip of coffee.

"I think this is great," Luke said after a moment of consideration. "Don't you think this is great?" Luke had visions of Rory keeping Jess on the straight and narrow.

"I think Rory is seventeen and it's probably time for a Jess," Lorelai replied. She had visions of this whole thing ending badly. "I've spent a lot of time and energy fighting the whole Jess thing. Rory's made her choice, I want her to be happy. I'm just hoping for the best at this point."

"Very romantic," Luke remarked as he leaned an elbow on the counter.

"Says the man who yelled 'finally!' at the end of Love Story," she threw back at him.

"Eggs?" he asked casually.

"Thank you very much," she said as she leaned on the counter before she turned her attention back to her coffee.

* * *

"You don't have to come," Rory said quickly. She, Lorelai and Charlie were sitting in the jeep after this weeks Friday Night Dinner. "I'll go, take a tour of Yale, hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and then come home."

"Rory, they're manipulating you," Lorelai lamented.

"I know they are," she countered. "But it would mean a lot to Grandpa." Rory waited while Lorelai growled a little under her breath. "They invited you and Charlie to come along, if you really want to."

"Do they honestly think that I'm going to drag her down to New Haven for the day?" Lorelai asked, throwing her hands in the air. It was times like this that she'd pay good money to know what was going on in her parents heads.

"You could find a sitter, ask Heather is she wants extra hours?" Rory suggested with a shrug.

"Heather's out of town this weekend," Lorelai said with a sigh.

"Lane is always looking for extra cash, maybe Luke if you get really desperate? And what about Sookie? The two of them always get along," Rory suggested.

"Ok, I will ask around," Lorelai lamented. Rory just shook her head and Lorelai heaved another sigh. "If I can find someone, we'll go. But this trip better be fast, like hi Yale! Bye Yale! Fast," she said.

"That's fine," Rory agreed, patting Lorelai on the knee.

"Ooooh I'm going to regret this," Lorelai muttered as she started the jeep again and headed home.

* * *

As the trip to Yale grew closer, Lorelai grew more apprehensive about what was going to happen and she was slightly disappointed that the same wasn't happening to Rory. Rory, however, was apprehensive about starting a relationship with Jess. They were both still nervous and jumpy when they were alone together.

And having Luke walk in on them as they were about to kiss didn't help matters. As she bolted out the apartment door, Rory heard Luke starting to lecture Jess. This was going to be harder than she thought. She paused out side the door for a moment to collect herself before she walked back down to the diner, put her coat on and grabbed her back pack before heading home.

Jess and Luke both watched as Rory scampered out of the apartment, the Styrofoam take out container held tightly against her chest. Luke took stock of the situation before he started to lecture. Jess rolled his eyes and shot back with a few sarcastic replies.

"Tell me, what am I going to do to her?" he asked as he slumped down slightly in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with a bemused smile on his face as he waited to hear Luke's answer.

"You're not going to do anything to her because when you're at her house, there's Lorelai. And when you're here, there's me and when you're out there, there's Taylor," Luke pointed out as he continued to layout the rules for dating Rory.

"Romeo and Juliet had warring families and they still managed to do a little damage, you know?" Jess shot back at Luke.

"Well, as soon as I catch you in a pair of tights, I'll get worried. Until then, do your homework," he fired back. He took a step back and smiled, proud of the firm parenting he had just done. As Jess opened one of his school books, Luke nodded once in approval before he headed back down to the diner.

* * *

"I need to ask a HUGE favour of you," Lorelai asked as she slipped into the diner, just before close the day before they were supposed to go to Yale.

"How huge?" he asked as he continued to play with the coffee maker, switching pots around on the elements.

"Well, it's about 2 feet tall and weighs about 20 pounds," she said as she slid onto a stool. "And she needs a sitter tomorrow." Lorelai chewed on her lip as she watched Luke's back tense up as he continued to clutch the coffee pot in his hand. "My, uh, my parents invited Rory to go with them on a tour of Yale tomorrow and they told me to come to so that we can do our own thing while they go to some nostalgia dinner for my dad before we head home and I have begged, borrowed and stolen every favour from every person I know and I can't find anyone to watch Charlie."

"Lorelai. . . " he said, finally turning around to look at her.

"Lane's mother has her tied to the store for the day and Sookie is working all day, so are Jackson and Patty. Morey and Babette are headed to New York over night for a gig and Rory didn't hang out with anyone other than Lane when she went to school here and no one at Chilton likes her enough to hang out with her out side of school so, either way, I have to abandon one of my kids for the day and I would much rather abandon Charlie because if I leave Rory alone, my parents are liable to talk her into something she really doesn't want to do and please Luke," she said. "I pay five bucks an hour," she tacked on. "More than any other parent in Stars Hollow."

"I don't have anywhere to put her," Luke finally replied.

"To put her?" Lorelai asked. Out of everything she expected to come out of Luke's mouth, that had not been one of her chosen responses.

"When she naps, or when it gets busy. She does still nap, right?" he asked as he leaned on the counter in front of her.

"She does, she still naps, usually an hour and a half. And I can get you a baby jail," she said as he turned to fill a to-go cup for her.

"Baby jail?" he asked and she couldn't help but smile when she saw his lips quirk up in a bit of a smile.

"A play pen, we call it a baby jail. Me and Rory."

"I can't do diapers," he said quickly, pushing the cup towards her.

"They're not hard," she said quickly as she accepted it from him. "I'll give you a quick lesson before we go."

"No, I can't," he said again, leaning in close to her again. "She's not my daughter. . . It's be weird," he finished, making a face. He appreciated the fact that Lorelai was trying very hard not to make a face.

"She's almost two Luke, she still sees nothing wrong with streaking through the house when I'm not fast enough after I get her out of the tub," she assured him, patting the back of his hand.

"Five an hour, huh?" he asked eventually.

"Always negotiable," she said, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"I don't need the money," he said as he tossed a few donuts in a bag.

"Name your price," she said as she accepted the bag from him.

"Don't do this to me again," he said, leaning on the counter.

"I will try really, really hard not to," she said with a smile. "7:30?"

"I'll be here," he said with a smile as she pushed away from the counter and slowly sauntered towards the door.

"Luke?" she called to him as she hesitated by the door. "Thank you," she said after he turned around to look at her. He offered her a wave and a smile before she quietly slipped out of the diner and headed home.

* * *

"Where were you?" Rory asked as she and Lorelai met each other in the living room.

"The diner," Lorelai replied as she handed Rory the bag of donuts, her coffee long gone before she locked the door behind her and hung up her coat.

"For donuts?" Rory asked as she opened the bag and pulled one out.

"I needed to sell my soul to get a baby sitter," she replied. Rory looked at her for a moment before she shrugged.

"You got one?" she asked around a mouthful of donut.

"I did," Lorelai said as she reached into the bag to get her own donut.

"And we can still go to Luke's?"

"Of course we can. Why wouldn't we be able to go to Luke's?" Lorelai asked, mystified as to how that question had come about.

"Just checking," she replied. "Night."

"Night Sweets," Lorelai replied as she watched Rory wander back towards her room, still trying to figure out why they wouldn't be able to back into Luke's.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, so, broken record and all but, reviews? 9 people have this marked as a fave. If you can mark a story as a fave, you should be able to drop a review at least every second chapter. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is ALWAYS welcome, as is the ego stroking. Mostly, I just want to hear what you guys think, let me know you're still reading and you haven't gotten bored with this. Do you think it's dragging along? Do you think it's too fast? HELP ME OUT HERE!!

* * *

Lorelai woke up at an ungodly hour the next morning and jumped in the shower before she woke Charlie up and got her dressed for the day. Picking out an outfit for her took some effort this morning as she decided to choose something that she knew would provide Luke with easy access. She eventually settled on a dress and a pair of leggings, since leggings were always easier to deal with than tights. Leaving Charlie with Rory for a moment, she quickly lugged the playpen out to the car.

"We're going!" Lorelai called to Rory as she and Charlie headed out to the car.

"Bye!" Rory called back as she finished getting dressed. Not long after Rory finished eating a Pop Tart, there was a knock on the door and Rory opened it only to be greeted by her grandmother.

"Where is your mother?" Emily demanded when she arrived to pick up the pair and only Rory was in the house.

"Dropping Charlie off at the sitters," she said. Rory, being the smart kid that she was, figured it would be best if her grandparents didn't know that the sitter was Luke.

"Alright, where's your bag?" she asked calmly.

"My bag?" Rory asked. "We're not staying over night."

"I told your mother to tell you to pack," Emily said as she marched into the house. Rory furrowed her brow as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"She did," Rory quickly replied. "Here is mom's bag," she said, handing Rory the duffle bag that was sitting by the door. "I will be right back." Rory quickly returned to her room and found the list her mother had left her. She quickly threw together the things that were on the list before she returned with the bag. "And here's mine," she said with a smile. Emily eyed her for a moment before she led Rory out to the car to wait for Lorelai to return.

* * *

Lorelai watched as Luke lugged the playpen up the stairs to his apartment.

"How the hell does this thing work?" he asked as he dropped it on the ground.

"It just unfolds," she assured him as she dropped Charlie's bag on the kitchen table. She turned and sent Luke's back a look as she listened to him curse under his breath as he tried to set it up. "Here," she said, holding Charlie out to him. He reluctantly stood up and took the toddler from her before she bent down and had the playpen set up in a few seconds.

"Huh," was all he could say as Lorelai stood back up.

"Ready?" she asked him, a smile on her face as she headed to the kitchen table and started to dig through Charlie's bag.

"Ready for what?" he asked as he walked over to her. She pulled a diaper out of the bag and waved it at him. She couldn't help the smile the fell on her face when she saw the look that fell over his. "Ah jeez," was all he could say. "You gotta slow down," he said as he watched her whiz through the diapering procedure.

"Jeez, I thought you were quick," she said as she rolled her eyes a little before she rolled Charlie back over and diapered her again. "Got it this time?" she asked as she stood Charlie up and pulled her legging back up.

"I think so," he said, his hands still shoved in the pockets of his jeans.

"Just remember," she told him as she stood up. "Chick magnet," she pointed to Charlie before she washed her hands. Luke frowned as he looked from Lorelai to Charlie, who was already slowly exploring the apartment. "Call if you need any advice. She normally goes down about 1 for about an hour and a half, some times longer. Don't let her sleep for more than 2 hours. Should I write this down?" she asked as she pulled her coat back on and grabbed her purse.

"I got it," he assured her as he dashed over to Charlie and picked her up before she could get her hands on anything.

"Ah, see? You got it under control already," Lorelai said happily. "Okay, see you two later tonight, be good," she said, dropping a kiss on Charlie's head before she slipped out the door. Luke swallowed hard as the door closed behind Lorelai as he realised that he was now alone with a 17 month old.

"So. . . What now?" he asked her. Charlie looked at Luke for a moment before she pointed towards the bag. He carried her over and stood her on the table, watching as she dug threw the bag, pulling out various books and small toys that Lorelai had shoved into the bag. Charlie quickly grabbed a book in each hand and held them out towards Luke. He glanced at the clock and sighed. "We have time for one, then we have to work," he told her.

"Otay," she said as he picked her up from the table and they headed to a chair.

* * *

As always, Charlie was happy to sit in her high chair and watch the chaos that was the diner during a rush. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Luke, Patty and Babette had caught wind of the fact that Charlie was spending the day with Luke and they had made it their mission to help him out any way they could. After making themselves comfortable, the pair decided that the best way to help Luke was to hang onto Charlie for him.

"No!" Charlie finally yelled out. This caused the few after lunch patrons who were lingering in the diner to pause and turn and look in her direction. "No!" she told Patty again, pushing away from her. "Down!" she demanded.

"Bossy little girl," Patty commented as she put her on the ground.

"Well, she is a Gilmore," Babette added as Charlie heaved an angry sigh and set off to find Luke.

"Up," she told him as she came to a stop in front of him and held her arms up. Luke sighed and picked her up, wondering what he was going to do now with a clingy toddler. He relaxed a little and remembered to check the time when she heaved a sigh and settled against his shoulder.

"Caesar! I'll be back in a few hours," he called out. He stayed in the diner long enough for Caesar to call back to him before he headed upstairs. "This part I remember," he said before he dug a blanket out of Charlie's bag and gave it to her before putting her in the playpen. He took a few steps back, watched as she settled herself and got comfortable, thumb in her mouth, before he headed to the large arm chair in the living room. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, keeping the volume low as he flipped through the channels, reminding himself why he was glad he was busy during the day.

* * *

Sure enough, Lorelai did regret agreeing to go to Yale with Rory, especially when she found herself taking a cab back to Stars Hollow from New Haven with Rory. She turned her head from the window she was staring out to look over at Rory who was also staring out the window. She sighed a little and Lorelai bit her tongue before she turned her attention back to the window. This was the first time Rory had really been tricked by the Gilmore's and while she had gone into this outing with her eyes open, neither of them had expected this.

"Why did he do that?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. "I would have done it just because he asked," she said as she turned in her seat to look at Lorelai.

"Because it's the Gilmore way," Lorelai replied and Rory just looked at her. "Because he tends to look at you and see me. He could have promised me money and I wouldn't have taken an interview at Yale and he had visions of you doing the same. So, he set everything up so that you wouldn't, couldn't say no to him. I think he meant well on some level."

"Remind me of this the next time I go along with one of their plans," Rory muttered as she turned back to the window.

"Rory?" She turned to look at her mother. "Don't stay mad for too long," Lorelai said, giving Rory's hand a squeeze as Stars Hollow came into view.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory had trudged into Luke's as soon as they had gotten home. The pair had fallen into chairs and ordered burgers with extra cheese, extra fries and coffees, in addition to the taco's they had brought back from New Haven. Jess came down into the diner not long after Rory and Lorelai had sat down and after another awkward greeting, Jess headed out to pick up a part for his car and Rory headed off to do homework.

"Sit down Luke," Lorelai said after Luke started to freak out once he had figured out the kid code. "They're gonna stand around somewhere and kiss for a while before Rory heads home to study." Luke looked between Lorelai and the door for a moment before he finally sat down in the chair Rory had just vacated.

"So, how was the tour?" Luke asked as he pushed Rory's discarded tacos out of the way while Lorelai started to eat hers.

"The tour was fine, it was fun actually, right until we walked into the main administration building and my father announced that he had arranged an interview for Rory. Without telling us," Lorelai said as she stopped eating to wrap Rory's tacos back up. Luke frowned when he realised that he could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

"Charlie was fine," he said, changing the subject without prompting. "She's watching that video you sent upstairs," he said.

"Yeah?" she asked, glad that he hadn't pressed her for more information.

"Yeah," he said. "It, uh, it wasn't bad. She wandered around when things were quiet, Patty kidnapped her for a while and when it got busy, she was happy to sit and watch the mayhem. She napped when you said she would and woke up when you said she would. . ."

"I knew she was saving up all that good behaviour for something special," she replied with a small smile as she finished her taco.

"You can head up, if you want," he said. "I'll call you when the burger's are ready."

"Thanks Luke," she said as she shoved the tacos back in the take out bag before she headed upstairs. Luke sighed as he watched her go before he got up to start on her burgers.

* * *

Lorelai sat in bed that night, covers pulled up to her waist with Charlie dozing beside her. She sat like that for a long moment simply listening to her baby snuffle as she drifted off to sleep, a bottle firmly in her hand, before she reached over to her bed side table to grab the Yale brochure. She held it in her lap for a moment before she finally opened it and began to read. Charlie stirred slightly at the movement, so Lorelai pulled her onto her lap and kept reading while Charlie drifted off.

As Lorelai was reading about Yale, Rory finally turned off her light and crawled into bed. She lay in the dark for a moment before she reached over and turned on the light that was on her bed side table. She quickly reached into the drawer and pulled out a Yale brochure of her own. Making herself comfortable against her pillows, she began to read as well.

* * *

After the fiasco at Yale, Lorelai and Rory began to avoid the elder Gilmore's, as much as they could. They really didn't have much to say to them that hadn't already been said and they also didn't really care to hear what Richard had to say to defend himself. In fact, Lorelai had bowed out of the last few Friday night dinners, claiming she was sick and saying that Rory needed to stay home too, to help her with Charlie.

However, as Thanksgiving approached, Emily put her foot down and showed up at the Independence Inn to inform Lorelai that she and her girls would be at their house for Thanksgiving dinner no matter what.

"She cold cocked you, huh?" Rory asked as they headed towards Luke's.

"She bit me, incapacitated me with her poison and devoured me whole," Lorelai lamented. She waived to Heather and Charlie who were approaching the diner as well.

"But how are we going to go to four Thanksgiving dinners?" Rory asked.

"It's not four, is it?" Lorelai asked, making a face as she looked at Rory.

"Lane's house, Sookie's and we always stop at Luke's . . . that's three, and Grandma and Grandpa is four," Rory said as she ticked them off on her fingers.

"We're mad, Edie," Lorelai moaned.

"We're us Edie," Rory replied. They discussed this a little more before they met up with Heather and Charlie. Charlie eagerly flung herself into Lorelai's arms as she and Heather worked out the Thanksgiving schedule before they said their good byes and stepped into Luke's.

"I saw you coming so I ordered your Wednesday usual . . French dip, extra fries, the every Wednesday cherry pie," Luke said as he brought the food over to the table.

"Such service," Rory commented as she sat down.

"And, for her, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas and turkey."

"She won't eat it," Lorelai said when she saw the plate.

"You're kidding, right?"

"It's touching," Lorelai said as she tied a bib on Charlie. "She's decided she won't eat food if it's touching." Luke looked at her and blinked for a moment before he set the plate in front of Charlie. The 17 month old looked at it for a moment before she pushed it to the edge of the tray and looked up at Luke. "Told ya," Lorelai said as she sat down and offered Charlie a French fry.

"Do I have to serve it in a cafeteria tray?" he asked as he picked the plate back up.

"Do you have one?" she asked. "Because that would be really helpful."

"Trouble, all of you," he said as he headed to the kitchen.

"So, now, practical question. . . How are we going to eat four Thanksgiving dinners?" Rory asked.

"How? Rory, what are we if not champion eaters?"

"It's too much food," Rory said, not really believing that her mother was even suggesting they eat four meals.

"What's too much food?" Luke asked as he returned with a plate full of bowls, each containing a single food item.

"It's not too much food," Lorelai said, ignoring Luke for the moment. "This is what we've been training for our whole lives. This is our destiny. This is our finest hour."

"Or final hour," Rory muttered. "4 Thanksgiving dinners," she told Luke. Luke hesitated in serving Charlie, the bowl of mashed potatoes hovering half way over the tray of her highchair.

"You're kidding, right?"

"The Kims, Sookie's, yours," she said, pointing at Luke. "And my parents. It's going to be a busy day," Lorelai concluded. "We need to get inspired, we are not Michelle Kwan-ing this."

"Okay, okay, four dinners," Rory agreed as she stole the fork from Charlie and offered her a spoon instead. Luke shook his head as he finished placing bowls. With mild amusement, he watched as the toddler inspected all of the bowls to make sure they were to her liking before she started to eat.

"We'll skip the rolls," Lorelai said casually with a shrug.

"That'll help. You know, we might wanna consider not eating much now in preparation for our finest hour. A little fasting so that we can enjoy more tomorrow, hm?" Lorelai looked at her eldest for a moment.

"Unnecessary," she said as she dug into her fries.

"Yeah," Rory agreed as she did the same.

* * *

"Ok, we're not doing to bad," Lorelai said as they headed to Luke's for his dinner the next day. Rory glanced over at her mother, who was still looking a little green after the whole Tofurky incident. Of course, the goings on at Sookie's house had taken her mind off of it. They had both agreed that there needed to be more deep fried turkey in their lives.

"I'll say," Rory added. "Especially Charlie. I can't believe she's still eating."

"Well, maybe championship eating is genetic," Lorelai said as she juggled the remaining bouquets of flowers while Rory held Charlie's hand.

"I doubt it," Rory replied as they entered Luke's.

"What is that?" Luke asked after he and Lorelai had given up on the traditional lack of flower vase argument.

"What's what?" Lorelai asked as she tossed her coat and Charlie's over a chair.

"That get up," he said as he looked at Charlie and the dress she was in.

"Ah, that is the cost of sending her to my mother over the weekend so we could do the dance marathon," Lorelai said as she and Luke looked at Charlie who was wearing the cerulean blue baby doll dress, with matching shoes and hair band, that Emily had bought her. "I can hardly wait to see what she looks like after a summer with them," she mused. "My mother had that 'or else' look in her eye when she specified that I dress her in that, so I did."

"I pity her," Luke said.

"I pity me," Lorelai replied. "Trying to keep her clean today has been a nightmare. The only reason she's wearing it now is because we don't have any time to go home and change first." Luke shook his head once more as Lorelai rounded up the little girl and sat her in the high chair. "Remember, you don't have to eat everything," she told the little girl as she pulled the bib on over her head. "What?" she asked as Rory nudged her. She turned in time to see Luke serving Charlie a plate with dividers, to keep everything separate.

"What?" he asked gruffly as he put a plate in front of Lorelai.

"Nothing," she replied with a smile. "You are just so sweet to her," she finally gushed. Jess and Rory glanced at each other, each wearing a similar smirk.

"Being sweet had nothing to do with it," he said as he sat down. "I don't have time to wash 8 million bowls because your kid has decided to have special culinary needs."

"Right, so this is all convenience for you," she said with a knowing smile as he pushed his plate over to her so she could take the marshmallows off of his yams.

"Exactly," he said as he pulled his plate back after Lorelai had all of his marshmallows on her plate. Rory and Jess looked on in amusement at this.

"Ok," she said with a smile of her own as they dug in.

* * *

"Oh Emily, they're just beautiful!" Natalie, a friend of Richard and Emily's, gushed when she saw Rory and Charlie. "And this little one! I don't know what to say!" Charlie held tightly to Lorelai as she was gushed over. She relaxed slightly once they were sitting. Lorelai and Rory were quickly introduced to the other guests Richard and Emily had invited and as the night progressed, Lorelai started to relax, thinking that with these guests here and Charlie and Rory looking so cute and angelic, things were going to go smoothly.

Until the topic of where Rory had applied to college came up.

As the discussion started to turn into an argument, Lorelai quickly excused herself to keep things from getting too loud, and stepped outside into the chilly Connecticut night with no coat on.

"Momma?" Charlie asked as she watched her mother leave the table. Rory quickly leaned over and shushed her as Emily excused herself from the table as well and the dinner guests fell into an awkward silence.

Lorelai stood out side on the patio, arms crossed over her chest as she stared up at the stars, enjoying the quiet and trying to ignore the cold.

"It's freezing out here," Emily said as she came out on to the patio. Lorelai pulled her arms tighter around her.

"It's Jamaica compared to in there," she muttered, looking back up at the sky for a moment before she went back to scanning the back yard.

"It's just an alternative to Harvard, a back up. It changes nothing," Emily started, hugging herself to try and keep warm.

"No, no," Lorelai replied as she stepped a little further away from her mother.

"Lorelai. . . "

"Mom, I don't wanna talk," she said firmly.

"Do you believe we had nothing to do with this?" she asked as she ignored Lorelai and came closer to her.

"Just for a second, mom, please. Just let me digest this for a second. All this Yale stuff. . . Arg!" she said, throwing her arms in the air in frustration.

"You can't even let Rory have one piece of our lives, even if it's her choice," Emily said. "You hate us that much," she said, not phrasing it as a question. The statement hung in the air for a few seconds before Emily turned on her heel and headed back into the house to salvage her dinner, leaving Lorelai alone in the cold night once again.

* * *

Rory and Lorelai, with a sleepy Charlie in her arms, walked slowly towards Luke's. They had discussed the whole 'applying to Yale' in the car on the way back from Hartford and things were some what worked out.

After one last stop at Sookie's to check on everything, they headed to Luke's, still chuckling about how drunk Sookie had gotten in order to cope with Jackson's family as well as the fact that he had deep fired her organically grown, free range turkey.

"Hi guys," Lorelai said brightly as they ran into Luke and Jess outside of the diner.

"We're out of food," Luke said automatically when he saw her.

"Oh, please, we're not eating for a year," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Or 'til tomorrow morning," Rory threw in with a shrug.

"Whichever comes first. Hi Saint Nick," Lorelai said when she saw Jess with a trash bag slung over his shoulder.

"Tell him he needs to get more trash cans," he complained.

"Just go," Luke said to him.

"You got coffee?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"That I've got. Come on in," he said as he held the door open. He, Lorelai and Charlie entered as Rory followed Jess down the sidewalk. "Hey, did I see flames coming from Sookie's place about a half-hour ago?" he asked as he poured her a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, why?" she asked causally, making no effort to further expand on what had happened.

"Just checking," he said, a mildly amused look on his face. "How'd she hold up?" he asked, nodding towards the almost asleep toddler on Lorelai's shoulder.

"Like a little champion," she replied with a smile. "She's gonna sleep well tonight."

"After four dinners, I'm not surprised," he said with a chuckle.

"Three," Lorelai corrected. "Big upset at the parents house and we didn't really eat. We could have had the rolls," she lamented. Luke just shook his head and continued to clean up behind the counter. "You, uh, wouldn't happen to have any left, would you?"

"No, come on," he complained to her.

"Just a little something for the walk home," she said with a shrug. He looked at her for another moment before he grabbed the bag of rolls and handed it to her.

"I don't see how you do it," he said with a shake of his head.

"Well, you're not us, are ya? Night Luke," she said as she grabbed her coffee and the rolls before she headed out to find Rory.

"Hey," she said as she joined up with her mother.  
"Here," Lorelai replied, handing her the bag of rolls.

"So, good Thanksgiving," Rory said as she opened the bag and took a roll.

"It really was," Lorelai replied with a smile as they headed back to the jeep to head home.

* * *

As the Christmas season settled over Stars Hollow, so did a thick blanket of snow.

"This is a historic moment," Lorelai told Rory the morning of the first snow fall.

"This isn't her first snow," Rory pointed out with a yawn. She and her mother had skipped their traditional midnight walk in the snow because of Charlie and had settled for sitting on the front steps with hot chocolate, donuts and the baby monitor.

"Ah, but it will be her first walk in the snow," Lorelai pointed out as she sat Charlie on the table in the entrance way so she could get her new boots onto her feet. "And, how great is it that the first snow is on her half birthday? Fate, I say," Lorelai finished with a smile as she put Charlie's hat on her head and lowered her to the ground as she put on her own coat, hat, mitts and boots. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Rory said as she pulled her last mitt on.

"Let's go!" Lorelai said as she swung the door open. Charlie wandered to the door frame and simply looked out. She wasn't too steady in her boots and snowsuit and was in no hurry to fall. "Come on, kiddo," Lorelai said as she took one of Charlie's hands and Rory took the other to finally get her out into the snow.

"'no," Charlie said as she looked around.

"No what?" Rory asked.

"'no! 'no!" Charlie said again, rather excitedly as she managed to bend down and stick her mitt in the snow. "'no!" she said again with a smile as she showed her mother and sister.

"Oh, snow," Lorelai said with a smile. "Smarty pants," she commented as they watched Rory make a snow angel.

* * *

  
Christmas and New Years passed as peacefully as they had the last year, except Charlie managed to stay awake for most of New Years this time. By the middle of January, however, all of the girls had a cold, were all equally miserable and things only got worse for Rory and Charlie from there.

"I can't be sick," Rory lamented from inside the bathroom. "I have to go to school!"

"You've thrown up twice," Lorelai called to her from outside the door. "You are sick and you can't go to school."

"I'll just take some Gravol!"

"And then do what? Sleep through all your classes?" she asked again. She gave a sigh as she heard Rory start retching again. "You are not going to school and that's final! The mom card has been played!" she said. "I'm going out, I'll be back in a bit." She waited until she heard Rory groan in response. "How are you doing?" she asked Charlie when she walked back into her room and over to the crib. She offered the toddler a sad smile as she watched her rub at her nose, smearing snot across her face before she started to cough. "My poor sick girls," she said as she cleaned Charlie up before lifting her out of the crib. Charlie threw her arms around Lorelai's neck and hung on.

"Come on, we've gotta go get supplies for Rory," she said as they headed down stairs, both of them still in their pyjamas. "Saltines, white bread, ginger ale, Gravol and Kleenex," she told Charlie as they headed to the car. Lorelai made sure to call Sookie and Michel to let them know that she wouldn't be at the Inn today before she called the nanny and canceled her as well.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Lorelai heard some one call to her while they were in Doose's.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked Luke as she turned around to look at him.

"Still sick?" he asked when he saw Charlie.

"And Rory has the flu. 'Tis the season, I suppose," she said with a shrug. Luke looked at her for a moment longer before he plucked the shopping basket from her hands.

"What else do you need?" he asked.

"Follow me," she said as she led him up and down the aisles, tossing things into the basket as she went. Luke followed her to the check out too and carried the bags to the jeep for her as well. "You really didn't have to do that," she told him.

"Does she want mashed potatoes?"

"I don't really think she wants much of anything right now," Lorelai called as she tucked Charlie into her seat. "She was, uh, indisposed, when I left." She watched as Luke made a face when he put together what she meant.

"Ah, well, give me a call if you need anything," he said. She agreed that she would and with a wave, he was off back to the diner and she was headed home.

* * *

"No, mom, I'm not kidding," Lorelai said as she talked to Emily over the phone. "They are both still sick."

"There is no way they've both had colds for three weeks Lorelai," Emily shot back.

"Well, Rory did get over her cold but then decided to catch the stomach flu and Charlie did manage to shake her cold, but caught another one a few days ago." Lorelai waited for the bickering to begin.

"Put her on the phone," Emily demanded as she looked out the window to watch the grounds keeper clearing the drive way.

"Who? Charlie?" Lorelai asked, more than a little confused.

"Rory. I want to talk to Rory," Emily said.

"Mom, it hurts that you don't believe me," Lorelai said as she got up and headed upstairs. Rory had crawled into Lorelai's bed some time while she and Charlie had been out and she hadn't moved yet.

"Well, you have a past," Emily replied.

"Come on Charlie," she called out to the toddler. She looked up from her toy and, as quickly as she could manage, she got herself over to the stairs and started to crawl up them. "Hey you, Grandma wants to talk to you," she told Rory softly.

"Why?" she asked, still half asleep.

"She thinks I'm lying about you being sick. Set her straight, would you?" she asked as she handed Rory the phone and looked down at Charlie. She grabbed a Kleenex and cleaned up the baby's face. "It's so glamorous being a mother, isn't it?" she asked no one in particular.  
"She wants to talk to you again," Rory said after a bit.

"Rory is 18," Emily said as soon as Lorelai had the phone pressed to her ear again. "She can manage to stay home for a few hours by herself. Unless Charlie starts throwing up as well, I expect to see the two of you here tomorrow, 6:30 sharp." Lorelai sighed and rolled her eyes as she agreed Emily hung up soon after.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and Charlie will catch the flu," Rory muttered from under the covers. Lorelai paused to think about this for a moment.

"And how, exactly, would that be lucky for me?" she asked. "At least when you're sick, 9 out of 10 times you make it to the bathroom in time. Until you kids hit about 5, things land where they land and laundry goes through the roof."

"Right," was all Rory could say before she rolled over and went back to sleep.

"What about you? How about a nap?" she asked Charlie. Since she wasn't sleeping straight through the night with this cold, Charlie was a big fan of the nap again. Charlie glanced over at her mother before she stood up and walked over, arms held out. "Good call, Little Girl," she said as she picked her up and promptly tucked her into the crib. Lorelai took stock of her little brood for a moment before she shut the blinds, turned off the light and crawled in next to Rory for a few hours. With Charlie not sleeping, Lorelai wasn't either and she was grateful to take any chance to sleep that she got.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

"I'm coming, Charlie relax," Lorelai said as she forced herself out of bed. She glanced at the clock, impressed that they had all managed to catch a solid 2 hours, before she glanced over to the other side of the bed to see that Rory was gone. She listened for a minute, but only heard the TV. At least one of her kids was on the mend.

"Oh baby," she said when she saw Charlie. "It really was only a matter of time, wasn't it?" she asked when she saw that yes, she would be skipping Friday night dinner this week. She quickly dashed into the bathroom and turned the bath on before grabbing a towel. She headed back in and stripped Charlie before wrapping her up in the towel and depositing her in the tub.

"RORY!" she called out after Charlie was clean again and the bathwater had been changed.

"What?"

"Come here!" she called again. Rory trudged up the stairs a few moments later. "Watch her for a minute, ok?" Rory nodded and took a seat on the toilet as she watched Charlie while Lorelai ducked out of the room. "Gross, gross, gross," she muttered to herself as she bundled everything up and headed downstairs to the washing machine.

"Are you done yet?" Rory called as she hauled a crying Charlie out of the tub and into her lap, wrapping her up in a towel as she went.

"Pretty much," Lorelai said as she scanned the linen closet, taking stock of how many sheet changes she had for Charlie's crib.

"Her too?" Rory asked when she saw the naked crib.

"I blame you," Lorelai said as she took Charlie back.

"Sorry," Rory said with a shrug before she shuffled back downstairs. She had readings she was trying to catch up on.

"Hey, call Grandma, would you? She'll believe you."

"Sure. I'm gonna call Luke too," she said from the doorway.

"Why?" she asked as she cuddled Charlie, trying to calm her down.

"I want mashed potatoes," she called as he headed for the stairs again.

"That's my girl!" Lorelai said with a smile. "Ask him to bring a Friday Night Special and see if he'll pick up some baby Tylenol and that baby Gatorade stuff."

"The Pedia-whatever it's called?" Rory called back from the landing.

"Yes please."

"Gotcha," Rory said as she continued on her way downstairs to make the phone calls.

"Some week, huh Sweets?" Lorelai asked Charlie quietly as she finally calmed enough for her to get her into a pair of sleepers and to remake the crib.

* * *

"Fun and excitement never ends here, huh?" Luke asked as he stopped by some time later.

"Thrill a minute," Lorelai replied sarcastically as she let Luke in. He took a moment to take in the state of the living room and his eyes widened slightly. Things were even more of a disaster than usual. "She'll be up in a bit," Lorelai commented when she saw his eyes land on Rory who was asleep on the couch, a school book laying open over her chest.

"And Charlie?" he asked as he followed Lorelai to the kitchen.

"Asleep for now. I'm worried about my washer and dryer passing out from exhaustion," she quipped as she pulled the bottle of baby Gatorade out of the bag and put it into the fridge while Luke tucked the mashed potatoes into the oven to keep them warm.

"And you?" he asked as he pulled her food out of the bag before he started a pot of coffee.

"Exhausted. Charlie hadn't been sleeping because of the cold she had and the bed is crowded with Rory in it because even though she is 18, she still crawls into bed with me when she's really sick. And now that Charlie's caught Rory's flu, well, all of this leads to more awake time than sleep time," she finished as she pulled a stack of trashy magazines out of the bag. "Luke!" she said with a smile when she saw them. He shrugged as he put the ketchup on the table and a bottle of water for himself before he pulled his own meal out of the bag.  
"I thought you might like something to read, and some company," he said when she began to ask about the second take out container.

"You, Luke Danes, are a saint," she said as she sat herself down while he served her coffee.

"I try," he said as he finally sat down across from her. She continued to smile as they slipped into an easy conversation.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Rory asked as she wandered into the kitchen some time later.

"Because you need to sleep," she replied. "Mashed potatoes are in the oven."

"Thanks Luke," Rory said as she pulled them out, grabbed a spoon. "Grandma also says that you owe her."

"I owe her?" Lorelai asked. "I owe her because Charlie caught the stomach flu from you?" Rory shrugged.

"That's what she said," Rory said as she headed back to the living room.

"Typical," Lorelai said with a sigh. "My kids are throwing up and it's my fault," she muttered with a shake of her head. "Speaking of which," she finished as the baby monitor came to life. "I'll be right back," she told Luke as she grabbed two more fries before pushing away from the table. "Here, hold her," she said to Luke as she came back into the kitchen and all but dumped Charlie in his lap. He did as he was told and the pair watched as Lorelai quickly medicated Charlie and handed her a bottle of the baby Gatorade to drink.

"That's it?" he asked as she took the toddler back.

"You were expecting a magic trick?" she asked him as she sat down and picked at her fries while Charlie settled herself against Lorelai's shoulder.

"No, I just. . . It has been a very long time since I was around a sick kid. In fact, I don't think I've been around a sick kid since Rory had the chicken pox. I just. . . "

"Forgot how little there is to do for them?" she asked with a smile. He shrugged and picked at his sandwich. "You give them a dose of Tylenol as often as the dosage allows, keep them hydrated, try not to cry when they get too clingy and then worry about them until they get better."

"Huh," was his only reply.

* * *

Luke yawned and stretched as the movie came to an end. He hadn't meant to stay this long, but something told him that Lorelai needed the company and the extra set of hands, so when she and Rory invited him to stay for some movies, he agreed.

He grabbed the remote and turned the TV off just before the movie ended and he looked to his left to see how the girls were doing. He couldn't help but smile when he realised that Lorelai was asleep against him, Charlie asleep against her chest and Rory was asleep, leaning against Lorelai. Luke considered his options for a moment and decided that it would be better if he just stayed put. Caesar was closing the diner tonight anyways.

Luke quickly turned the VCR off and turned the TV back on, flipping through the channels until he found something mildly interesting to watch.

* * *

"Mom, wake up."

"No," Lorelai muttered, shutting her eyes a little tighter against the invading morning light.

"No, mom, really. You need to wake up," Rory said again.

"What?" she asked, cracking an eye open to look at her eldest.

"Luke is still here." Lorelai frowned when she heard this but turned her head to look to her right. Sure enough, there was Luke slumped down on the couch, head resting against the back while his feet were propped up on the coffee table.

"Huh," was all Lorelai could get out. She looked down at Charlie who was still asleep before she slowly got up off the couch and headed up stairs with her. Rory quickly jumped up as soon as she could and trudged after her mother.

"Why is he still here?" she asked as she sat down on the bed.

"Probably because the two of you used me as a pillow so I used him as a pillow," she reasoned as she tucked Charlie into her crib. She was more than a little impressed that she had slept the night. Of course, this now also meant that either she was on the mend, or today was going to be like one giant Exorcist impression. Just as Rory was about to ask her something else, they heard some one moving around downstairs. "I'll be right back," she told Rory as she ran a hand through her hair and dashed down stairs. "Hey," she called to him just before he slipped out the door.

"Oh, hey," he said as he stepped back in.

"Thank you," she said quickly. "For everything. The food, the supplies, the whole staying the night which you totally didn't have to do."

"Yeah well, all of you looked like you could use the rest," he said with a shrug as he pulled his gloved on.

"We did need it, thanks."

"So, they're doing better?" he asked suddenly.

"Rory will definitely be back at school on Monday. Charlie? Well, we'll wait and see," she said with a shrug as she picked his scarf up off of the ground.

"Ok," he said with a nod, as he took the scarf from her. "Well, call if you need anything."

"I will," she said. They stared at each other for a moment before Luke finally groped around behind himself and found the door knob. "It's icy," she warned him.

"Right," he said as he looked out at the porch and the unshoveled path to the drive way. "See ya."

"Bye Luke," she said as she finally closed the door. Lorelai turned and cringed when she saw the living room and quickly swooped around it, taking a load of dirty dishes the to the kitchen before taking a load of laundry out to the machine. She paused on her way back upstairs and peaked out the front window just in time to see Luke finish salting the porch before beginning to shovel the walk. She smiled for a moment before she let the curtain fall closed as she heard Rory coming down the stairs.

"Ok, you can't let me spend all day in bed today," she told her mother. "I have home work to catch up on."

"Well, get to it then," she said as she gathered a few more dishes she had missed the first time and followed Rory out to the kitchen.

* * *

After not hearing anything from Lorelai or Rory since Wednesday, Emily took matters into her own hands and called Lorelai. She rolled her eyes when she got the answering machine and immediately began calling to Lorelai.

"Lorelai. Lorelai you answer the phone right now!"

"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered as she rolled over in bed, cracked her eyes open and glanced at that clock.

"Lorelai Gilmore, I know you're home!" she heard her mother over the answering machine. Lorelai groaned as she finally sat up and found the phone that was still laying on her bed side table.

"What?" she asked harshly. Emily paused for a minute. "Well?"

"What do you mean 'well'? Don't you take that tone with me."

"Mom, I'm exhausted and would love to go back to sleep. Please, please, please put me out of my misery and tell me what you want."

"How can you possibly be tired? It's 10 o'clock Sunday morning."

"Because, unlike when I was young and sick, there is no nanny to pass Charlie off on so I can get a full 8 hours. And, because of that, I was up every 4 hours to clean up after her, give her another dose of baby Tylenol and spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to get her to drink something so that I don't have to take her to the hospital for dehydration. So, in the last 24 hours, I have gotten about 4 hours of sleep and that is being generous so, for the love of God, what do you want?!?" she called into the phone and she immediately cringed when she heard Charlie let out a cry. As her mother fumbled for an answer, Lorelai threw the covers off and padded over to the crib. She tossed a receiving blanket over her shoulder before she lifted Charlie out of the crib and held her close.

"I need to talk to you."

"Well, we're talking now," she said as she crawled back into bed and made a little nest for herself and Charlie. Charlie fussed a little longer until Lorelai managed to dig a pacifier out from under her pillow. She wondered briefly how it got there, but didn't think about it too hard as Emily started to rattle on. "Wait, you're gossiping to me?" she asked as she figured out what was going on.

"I need a second opinion on what this means, Lorelai!"

"Oh my God mom. I will see you on Friday, this will all keep until Friday," Lorelai insisted as she rubbed Charlie's back.

"Lorelai," Emily said quickly.

"Good bye mom," she said. "I'll call you later to let you know how the girls are doing," she said shortly as she hung up the phone. "Your grandmother, I swear," she said to Charlie. She sighed a little as she felt the dead weight of her in her lap. "How are you doin' baby?" she asked as she pulled her knees up and leaned Charlie against them. She frowned a little as Charlie sighed and just looked up at her. "That great, huh? Okay, the next 4 hours are going to decide if we take a road trip. You better start drinking," Lorelai said as she grabbed one of the blankets off the bed and threw it over her shoulders before she gathered Charlie back up into her arms, pulled the blanket tight around them and headed down to the kitchen.

"How ya doin' Sweets?" Lorelai called into Rory's room.

"I'm behind!" she called back.

"Glad to know you're feeling better," she said as she continued on to the fridge and dug out one of the bottles that was in there. She gave it a shake before she tried to give it to Charlie. "Come on babe," she muttered as she offered it to her again. Charlie squinted her eyes shut and turned her head to burry it in Lorelai's neck. "Rory, we're going out."

"I can't, I have to catch up on all this work," she said, not looking up from her note book and text books.

"Me and Charlie are going out," Lorelai clarified.

"Where?"

"Mommy needs some hand holding," she said as she headed back upstairs. This got Rory's attention and she pushed away from the desk and headed out of her room to follow her mother.

"What do you mean? I'm here, I can hold your hand," she said as she accepted Charlie from Lorelai as she pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of her closet.

"I worried about Charlie. I'm going to go and waste a day in the ER in Woodbridge so they can tell me that she's fine and to relax," she called as she finished dressing and quickly tied her hair back.

"Really?" Rory asked as she glanced down at Charlie.

"Yeah," she said as she found Charlie's bag and packed it with supplies. "Come on baby," she said as she took Charlie back from Rory. "I'll call, at some point," she said as they all headed back down stairs. Lorelai grabbed her coat and didn't bother with Charlie's. She was wrapped up in enough blankets to keep her warm.

"Bye," Rory said as she saw them off.

"Study hard," Lorelai called.

* * *

"We totally should have stopped by Luke's first," she muttered to Charlie as they continued to sit in the waiting room. She had lost track of how many time CNN had cycled through it's news since they had been there.

"Charlotte Gilmore!"

"Oh, that's us," she said as she jumped up and headed towards were the nurse was standing.

"Charlotte?" she asked, looking at Lorelai.

"Lorelai," she replied. "Charlie," she said, pointing to Charlie.

"Right," she said with a smile as she flipped through the chart. "She's dehydrated?"

"I think she is," she said as she hitched her up a little higher on her hip.

"It's usually hard to tell with your first."

"She's not my first," she said with a bit of a forced smile. "But, it has been just about 20 years since I had one this small in the house." She watched as she nurse did the ever expected math before she led them to a gurney.

"Some one will be back in a minute," she said before she turned on her heel and left.

"Thanks," Lorelai called after her. She sighed as she looked around the space they were in before she settled herself in the chair that was by the bed, a sleeping Charlie still in her arms.

* * *

"Hey Rory!" Luke said when he saw her wander in. "What are you doing up?"

"Looking for something to eat," she said as she slid into a seat at the counter. "And a break from the homework I have to catch up on. Mashed potatoes and chicken noodle soup?" she asked hopefully.

"You got it. How's Charlie?" he asked as he placed the order. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her hesitate. "What?"

"She had a rough day yesterday. Mom's worried and has gone to get some hand holding."

"Hand holding? Come on Rory," he said as he came back over.

"She packed Charlie up and headed to the ER in Woodbridge. Just to make sure. She's fine," Rory said when she saw the look on Luke's face. "Mom just wants to make sure." Luke stared at her for another moment. "How about I call you after mom calls me?"

"Yeah," he said, somewhat absently.

"Yeah," she said as she pulled out a book and started reading. She may need a break from the studying, but she also had pleasure reading to catch up on.

* * *

"Hey Rory."

"Hey mom, how is she?" Rory asked as she put down her pen to listen.

"She's tired and mad and ready to go home and so am I," Lorelai said as she sat in the chair and kept an eye on Charlie.

"I hear a 'but' in there," Rory said.

"But they're going to keep her over night, on an IV," she said with a sigh as she hugged a sleeping Charlie a little tighter as he eyes followed the clear tubing that ran from Charlie's arm to the bag of fluid.

"Ooh! Poor Charlie!" Rory said as she slumped in her chair. "Do you want me to bring anything?"

"No, no, I'm fine. We're fine," she said. "Tired, but fine. You're going to school tomorrow?" Lorelai asked as she got up out of the chair and wandered over to Charlie's bed.

"Yeah," she said as she as she played with a loose thread on her shirt. "Pretty sure."

"Well, I love you, have fun and I'll see you at some point tomorrow, ok?" she asked as she brushed some hair off of Charlie's forehead.

"Ok. Oh, mom? I went to Luke's for dinner and he asked about Charlie."

"And?" Lorelai sat on the edge of the bed.

"He's worried about her, and you," she answered.

"Tell him we're fine, or will be fine in a few days," Lorelai assured her with a bit of a smile.

"Ok. Good luck!"

"Thanks. Talk to you later kid," she said as they finally hung up.

"Miss Gilmore? We can take her up now," their nurse said as she stuck her head in the curtain.

"Oh, great," she said as she stood up, Charlie still in her arms. She looked between the IV pole and her things. The nurse picked up on that and quickly hung her coat and Charlie's bag on the pole before she grabbed it. "Thanks," Lorelai said, glad that she didn't have to put Charlie down.

"No problem," she said with a smile as she led the way. "Well, here we are," she said after a minute. "That chair reclines, but, the bed is definitely big enough for two," she said with a bit of a smirk.

"Thank you again," she said with a smile as she sat on the edge of the bed. The nurse gave them one more smile, checked Charlie's IV and quietly slipped out of the room. "Some day, huh kid?" she whispered to Charlie as she kissed the top of her head before she toed off her sneakers and sat on the bed, not letting go of Charlie as she turned on the TV.

* * *

Luke sighed as he got directions from the nurses station before he headed towards the elevator. He hated hospitals, but he had convinced Caesar to close for him so he could drop off some coffee and food for Lorelai and he had to brave said hated hospital to accomplish that. He stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway, checking room numbers as he went. He couldn't help but wince a little as he walked. The kids ward was pretty silent already and he couldn't help but feel that he was making an abnormal amount of noise, even though he knew he wasn't.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked as he peaked into Charlie's room.

"Yes," she said as her eyes snapped open and she looked towards the door. "Luke?"

"Uh, yeah. I brought you some coffee, and something to eat," he said as he awkwardly held out a bag from the diner and a coffee cup.

"You really didn't have to do this," she said as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, Charlie asleep beside her.

"I know," he said simply as he continued to stand in the door way. He watched as she pushed herself up off the bed and slowly came over, stretching out a few kinks as she did.

"Thank you," she told him as she took the bag and the cup from him. They stood quietly for a moment and just as Luke was going to say something, she turned slightly to look at Charlie. "I did this once with Rory," she told him. "She was about 8 and had caught food poisoning from somewhere, I don't remember where, and I remember her looking small compared to the stretcher she was in."

"Lorelai. . . "

"And now, here I am 10 years later doing the same thing, only Charlie looks so much smaller than Rory ever did. I know she's no sicker than Rory was, but she's so much smaller, so much littler, you know?" she asked, not looking at him.

"I know," he replied just as quietly. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" she asked as she turned around. He looked at her for a moment before he pulled her close and he felt her melt into him. Lorelai Gilmore was looking pretty small to him right now too.

* * *

Lorelai and Luke had ended up talking that night, mostly about nothing. In fact, he had been chuckling away to himself as he told her a Kirk story when she drifted off. When she woke to a slightly happier, slightly weller Charlie the next morning, she couldn't help but smile when she saw the Luke's coffee cup still on the little beside table, as well as a note saying that he was headed home and he would let Rory know that everyone was fine when she came into the diner for breakfast.

"He is way to good for us Sweets," she told Charlie as she showed her the note Luke had left. Charlie looked at the paper for a moment before she looked up at Lorelai.

"Out," she said, holding out her arm with the IV in it.

"Soon," she said as she brushed Charlie's hair out of her eyes.

"Home?" she asked as she dropped her arm to her side again.

"Soon," she said with a smile. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"So are we," the paediatrician who was on duty remarked from the door. Lorelai grinned a little as Charlie shrunk back behind Lorelai. She didn't remember much about yesterday, but what she didn't wasn't exactly fun. "Her lab work looks good," he said as he came further into the room. "If she keeps down breakfast, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to head home this afternoon."

"Great," Lorelai said happily.

"I'm gonna have a nurse come in and remove the IV bag and just cap the end, in case we still need it and, by that time, breakfast should arrive as well."

"Even better," she said with a smile. "We like food. We've missed food, haven't we Sweets?" Charlie didn't answer, she was too busy keeping an eye on the Doctor.

"Good, I'll see you two before you leave," the Doctor said as he made a few more notes on the chart before he left the room.

* * *

Rory trudged her way home slowly, partially because of the snow that was on the ground and partially because after having the stomach flu for almost a week, a full day at school had left her exhausted. Never mind that worrying about he baby sister was tiring as well.

She sighed contentedly when she saw the jeep sitting in the driveway, knowing that everyone was home now.

"Hello?" Rory called as she got into the house after school.

"In here!" Lorelai called from the kitchen.

"Well, you certainly look better," she told Charlie as she dropped her stuff off in her room before coming out to sit at the table.

"I'll say," Lorelai replied as she handed Charlie another triangle of toast with some jam on it. "Plain food for a couple of days, but after that, she should be right as rain," Lorelai replied. "How was school?"

"Long," Rory replied. "I'm further behind then I thought," she said. "I have time for a snack and a nap and then I'm locking myself in my room for the night."

"Ah, gotcha, we'll try to keep the noise down," Lorelai replied with a smile as she watched Rory grab an untoasted Pop Tart before heading to her room. "And everything is returning to normal," she said as she watched Charlie work at licking all the jam off the toast without actually having to eat any of the bread.

* * *

By the end of the week, all of the girls were finally able to step back out side and since the weather was warm and sunny, at least for January, Lorelai was taking every chance she got to get outside.

"Ah, sun! I had almost forgotten what it was like," Lorelai joked as she, Rory, Lane and Charlie walked towards Luke's.

"It wasn't that bad," Rory said, sending her mother a look.

"It wasn't that bad she says," Lorelai said. "Between the two of you, the only time I set foot out side for almost a week was to either lay in supplies or to take that pleasant jaunt to the ER. It was that bad," she insisted as she sent Rory a look while Lane snickered away between them.

"What ever, at least I didn't hog all the hot water this morning," Rory said, sending another look in her mother's direction. Lane continued to snicker as she held one of Charlie's hands as Rory had the other.

"I wasn't in there that long!" Lorelai insisted. "Lane, are you still looking for a place to hold band practice?" she asked, changing the subject so Rory couldn't wine about having to shower in cold water.

"Yes and it's not going well at all," she said glumly.

"Well, how would you like to use our garage?"

"Really?" Lane asked, her face lighting up as she looked up at Lorelai.

"We never use it," she said with a shrug.

"Oh my God!" Lane squealed as she let go of Charlie's hand and threw herself at Lorelai. Lorelai laughed as she wrapped an arm around Lane's shoulder.

"I take it that's a yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lane said again. Rory and Lorelai both laughed as conversation shifted to the Winter Carnival that was happening on Friday. As Lane lamented the fact that she had to go and man a booth for the marching band, Lorelai took the opportunity to tease Lane about her mother being near by. Rory got in one more shot about having no hot water to shower with this morning and Lane quickly turned the conversation back to the marching band. "So, on a scale of one to ten, how much do I not want Dave to see me in my uniform?"

"Ten," both girls answered without hesitation.

"That's what I thought," Lane said as they all headed into Luke's for breakfast.

* * *

"Oh Michel," Lorelai said gravely as they realised what Michel had said to the group of Hungarians instead of "Welcome to Stars Hollow." He quickly shut the dictionary and rushed back into the dinning room to try and explain.

"Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking," she said after picking up the phone.

"Well, your father's sixtieth birthday diner is back on," Emily said as she walked through the house.

"What sixtieth birthday dinner?" Lorelai asked never having heard anything about this before.

"The one that I had planned for Wednesday night."

"Oh. Were we coming?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course you were coming. You think you wouldn't be invited?" she asked as she handed the maid a pair of white gloves while she inspected the silver she had already polished.

"Well, apparently, we weren't invited," Lorelai said with a small smile as she arranged a few things on the desk.

"I had just started planning the whole thing when he came home in a mood and declared that parties were for children and it was cancelled," Emily said as she handed a piece back to the maid to polish again before she moved on.

"Were we disappointed?"

"However," Emily started again, ignoring Lorelai. "Today he came in and changed his mind, so I expect the three of you at eight. Charlie and Rory are well this week, right?"

"They're fine," she assured her mother.

"And bring a gift, but don't get him a cigar humidor."

"Okay," she said as she looked through the room bookings for the few days.

"I bought him a cigar humidor," Emily said with a smile. She was quite pleased with herself for finding it.

"I assumed," she said with a smile. She listened as he mother gushed about how great it was and how it belonged to a Lt. in the first World War. "Cool," she said after her mother was done.

"I think so, too. Alright, eight o'clock, do not be late," Emily told her firmly.

"Okay, we will not be late. Bye," she said as she quickly hung up. "Well?" she asked as Michel rushed back in and started to count out bills from the Petty Cash.

"It's fine. All we have to do is pay the ransom and they will give us the busboy back," he said as he quickly headed back to the dinning room again. He was gone so fast that all Lorelai could do was watch him go before the phone started to ring again.

* * *

Richard's party was going very smoothly. Emily had made no passive aggressive remarks about anything, Rory was her typical charming self and Charlie was just as adorable as ever.

Unfortunately for Lorelai, the evening got very stressful very quickly for Lorelai when Emily insisted on leaving the birthday presents on the coffee table in the living room while they had coffee before opening them. Rory could help but snicker a little as Lorelai held Charlie back from Richard's gifts.

"Charlie, would you like to help?" Richard asked her after a moment, abandoning his coffee.

"Yes!" the little girl cried as she tried to get away from her mother.

"Come here then," he said as he held out a hand. Lorelai let her go and sat back in her chair as Charlie got over to Richard as fast as she could to help him unwrap everything. A few moments later, when everything was unwrapped and Chuck Berry was playing on the record player, Richard sat back and pulled Charlie onto his lap.

"Happy birthday Grandpa," Rory said as he thanked her for the record again.

"Happy beffday Gampa!" Charlie echoed with a smile while the rest of the family chuckled at her before Emily offered Richard more champagne while the door bell rang out.

"One of the porch lights is burned out. Perhaps the simple act of glancing outside a window once and awhile might have alerted someone to the situation. Rory and Lorelai looked at each other as they recognised the voice. Lorelai's smile grew when she saw the look on her mother's face.

"Gran?" she asked.

"Trix, is that you?" Richard asked. "Well, I'll be. What a surprise," he said as he put Charlie on the ground and got up to greet his mother.

"Mom, did you know Grandma was coming?"

"Oh my God," Emily said, her face paling even more.

"Ok, no seems like a safe answer," she said as Charlie came back over to her and she picked her up.

"Emily, come here! Come say hello to this delightful creature that just walked in!" Richard called from the hall way.

"Oh my God," Emily said again before she put her champagne flute down and headed to the see Trix.  
"Come on, let's see if she tries to make a break for it," Lorelai said with a smirk as she and Rory got up and headed to join the rest of the group.

"Emily, did you know about this?" Richard asked, a large smile on his face.

"Why no, I didn't," she said, forcing a smile on her face.

"Well, I'm floored," he said.

"Good," Gran said with a firm nod. "Hello Lorelai," she said before she shifted her gaze to Charlie.

"Hello Gran, good to see you," she said with a smile, shifting Charlie to her other hip to her right hand was free for any hand shaking that may take place.

"You're well?" she asked immediately.

"I'm well."

"You're working," she asked, bringing her gaze back up to Lorelai.

"I'm working."

"You're single?"

"I'm single," she said with a smile.

"By choice, or do you scare the men with your independence?" Gran asked, a small smile gracing her features.

"Actually, I scare them with my Minnie Pearl impression," Lorelai replied with a smile and an amused satisfaction because she knew Gran would get the reference.

"The lady with the hat," she said with a pleased smile. "And this must be Charlotte," she said as she set her eyes on the toddler again.

"This is Charlie," Lorelai agreed. "Would you like to say hi?" she asked Charlie.

"No," Charlie said as she continued to stare at Gran, not sure what to make of her. Gran offered a chuckle at Charlie's response, making some comment about taking after her mother.

"Named after your grandfather, I assume?" she asked. As far as she knew, Rory was named after herself.

"Right again," Lorelai lied through her teeth. Rory nodded as well. Gran nodded, satisfied with the answer, before she turned her attention to Rory.

"Rory, as soon as I get settled, I want to hear all about your schooling and your college plans."

"Okay Gran," she said with a smile. They all stood and listened as Gran made a few more passive aggressive jabs at Emily before they headed to the living room. There was some hesitation when Gran announced that they were going to have dinner the next night, the girls eventually admitting that they had plans to attend the Winter Carnival being thrown in town. She let Rory out of it, but insisted that Lorelai come and bring Charlie with her.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I should like to freshen up," Gran announced after a while.

"I'll make sure the guest room's ready," Emily said.

"Oh, I can do that, Emily," Richard said as he stood up.

"Thank you, Richard. I would like you to bring that delightful baby upstairs with you," she said, sending a small grin in Charlie's direction. "Emily, I expect to return in twenty minutes. That should give you enough time to pull my gifts out of storage and place them around the room as if they actually stand there all year," she said as Richard collected Charlie from Lorelai before he offered his free arm to his mother.

"You want some help with those gifts?" Lorelai asked after Richard, Gran and Charlie had left the room.

"Yes please," she said as she dropped Gran's gloves onto the sofa before she got up and led the way to the basement.

* * *

"How old is she?" Trix asked as they headed up the stairs.

"She'll be two June first," he said. "In my opinion, she's quite advanced for her age," he bragged about his youngest grandchild. "She takes after Rory in that respect."

"That's because she's a Gilmore," Trix decided as she took another look at her. "She has her mother's looks," she said and Richard could tell that she approved. "What of her father?"

"Christopher," Richard supplied. "He tries, though not nearly as hard as he should." He left out the minor detail that Christopher was about to marry another woman who was carrying his child.

"Well, at least they're full siblings, that's something," she said as Richard opened the guest room door. "Now," she said as she sat down on one of the chairs in the room. "Hand me my great Granddaughter," she said. Richard hesitated for a moment before he handed Charlie over. Gran sat Charlie on her lap and straightened her dress as they took each other in while Richard got the room ready.

* * *

When Lorelai came into the kitchen at the Inn a few days later, Sookie began pointing out everything she had made for dinner that night. She defiantly hadn't expected a special dinner when she had warned Sookie that her grandmother was coming for a meal. As Sookie finished rattling off her menu, Lorelai began to realize that Charlie either wouldn't or couldn't eat anything Sookie was making.

"What about . . ." she started to ask, but Sookie quickly cut her off.

"Don't worry," Sookie said quickly. "Something simple for Charlie. Roast chicken breast, carrots, green beans and potatoes. All cubed, all bite size and no messy sauces. Does she still want everything separate?"

"Yes, that is the most important part," Lorelai said with a smile and Sookie laughed.

"I also have a miniature sponge cake and strawberries for her."

"Sookie, look what you've done," Lorelai said as she threw an arm over Sookie's shoulders.

"Over the top?"

"On a monumental scale," Lorelai assured her.

"Exactly what I was going for," she said as they shared another chuckle. "I'm also going to have individual little menus printed up and placed at each setting."

"I love you for doing this," She told Sookie as she gave her a squeeze.

"Your mother is on the phone," Michel announced as he marched into the kitchen.

"Can you take a message?"

"You mean, do I have the physical and mental capabilities to take a message? Why yes, I do, however. . . "

"I got it," she said as she rolled her eyes and took the phone from him. "Hey mom," she said with a fake smile on her face. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head when Emily announced that Gran wanted to see the house before dinner. Things only got worse when Emily said she was on her way there and hung up before Lorelai could talk her out of it or warn her that she had hired a nanny for when she was at work.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

Hello again kids! The reviews were great, keep it up. I agree that the last couple of parts were a little slow, but there was stuff in them that had to happen. While I can't offer a WHOLE lot of LL flirting, there is some interesting Rory/Jess stuff coming.

* * *

Emily frowned as she pulled up to the house and noticed the beat up car in the drive way that she didn't recognize. She quickly got out of the car, got a hold of one of the bags of flowers she had and headed up to the door. She paused as she began searching for the turtle when she heard voices in the house. She frowned for a moment before she knocked on the door.

"Can I help you?" Heather asked as she opened the door.

"Who are you?" Emily demanded.

"Who are you?" Heather shot back.

"Gamma!" Charlie said brightly, peaking through Heather's legs to see who was at the door.

"You're Lorelai's mother," Heather deduced as she held open the door. "Did we know you were coming?"

"No," she said as she took in the disaster area that was the living room. She sighed as she dropped her first load of flowers on the coffee table before going out for more.

"Yum," Charlie said as she got a smell of the flowers.

"Would you like some help?" Heather asked when she saw Emily coming back in with another load of flowers.

"I need vases," she said as she dropped them off on the coffee table as well before heading out to the car again.

"Vases," Heather said. "Come on Chuck," she said with a smile. Charlie giggled and finally abandoned the flowers to help search through cupboards.

* * *

Lorelai pulled into the drive way a few moments after Emily had and she jumped out of her jeep and raced up the stairs.

"Hold it right there!" she said when she saw Emily trying to move the couch. "Step back and move away from the couch," she said, watching in satisfaction as Emily did just that. She quickly dropped her purse onto a chair before she confronted her mother. "Where's Charlie and Heather?"

"Who?" Emily asked as she looked at the couch again. "This couch cannot stay."

"My kid and her sitter, where are they and yes it can," Lorelai said with a smile as she dropped her coat onto the chair.

"I don't know. They were underfoot so I told them to leave. This couch is awful!" Emily lamented as she stared at it, unable to take her eyes off of it.

"It can hear you," Lorelai said as she ran a hand over it. "Charlie!" she called out.

"Please," Emily asked.

"No," she said as she headed for the stairs.

"Well, what about the chair? Let me move the chair," Emily called to her as she finally focused on something other than the couch.

"No, the chair stays also," she said as she glared at her mother before climbing the stairs again. She listened as Emily ranted about flowers and Betty Boop heads while she peaked into the bedroom and found Heather and Charlie playing on the floor.

"Momma!" she said brightly as she got up and ran over.

"Hey kid," she said with a smile as she scooped her up. "Sorry about my mother," she said to Heather. "Sticking around up here is probably for the best. My grandmother is in town and the two of them don't exactly get along."

"Ah," she said with a smile.

"We will be gone as soon as I can manage it," she said as she gave Charlie one more hug before setting her loose again and heading back downstairs. "You are making yourself crazy," Lorelai said to her mother as she came back downstairs and watched her trying to arrange various nick nacks that she and Rory had collected.

"This room is horrible! Toys and clothes all over the place! Magazines and books where there aren't toys and clothes! What are you three doing here?"

"Uh, living?" Lorelai asked with an amused smile as she came over to inspect the flowers. "I like it," Lorelai said as she glanced around a little. The house looked lived in. One look at this living room said that there was a toddler, a teenager and a parent, all girls, who lived in this house.

"Well, you may like it, but your grandmother will not. She's going to take one look around here at the junk store collection of hobo furniture and she's going to blame me for it. Everything that's wrong in your life is my fault. Everything that's wrong in your father's life if my fault. Basically, everything that's wrong is my fault!" Emily lamented as she sat down on the couch in a huff. "And it's lumpy, perfect!" she moaned as she tried to find a comfortable position. Lorelai sighed before she took a seat beside Emily and let her in on the secret to happiness: Taking pleasure in other's disapproval. Emily sighed as she considered this.

"Mom, what are you thinking about?" Lorelai asked when she saw the frown deepen.

"That ridiculous Betty Boop head," she confessed as she looked behind them at said Betty Boop head that was sitting by the phone.

"Mmmhmm, so am I," Lorelai said, a smile on her face as he nodded her head slightly. Emily watched her for a moment as she rolled this around in her mind.

* * *

Lorelai sighed a little as she tossed another outfit onto the bed before reaching into her closet for another. Finally satisfied that her grandmother would approve of what she was wearing, she grabbed the last five bouquets of flowers that were sitting on her bed and quickly tossed them out the window. She had crammed as many flowers into the vases as she could, but in the end there were just too many flowers. Lorelai smiled as Rory yelled up the stairs, looking on advice for what she should do with her left over flowers.

"Can you toss 'em out the window like I did my last five bouquets?" Lorelai called from upstairs.

"Done!" Rory said with a smile as she tossed her last few bouquets out her bedroom window, making sure they landed behind the bushes, not on top. "We're done," she said with Charlie who was sitting on the floor playing with one of the flowers Rory had given her.

"Otay," Charlie said with a smile as she pulled herself up and followed Rory to the living room.

"Okay, so monkey lamp's in the closet, singing rabbi's in a drawer, all Spice Girl memorabilia is under your bed and Charlie is still clean. How do I look?" Lorelai asked as she came down the stairs.

"Like a woman who does not own any Spice Girl memorabilia," Rory said as she took her mother in.

"You look pretty, too," she said as she quickly turned around and grabbed Charlie before she got her hands on one of the vases on the coffee table.

"You know, your mother sense never ceases to amaze me," Rory remarked with a bemused smile on her face.

"Well, I did the fine tuning with you," she said with a smile, glancing around the living room as she swung Charlie up onto her hip. "Oh, hey, toss those last few toys into the box," Lorelai said, nodding towards the corner of the living room.

"Right," Rory said as she did just that while the door bell rang. "Hey, what happens if Gran doesn't like the house?"

"I think we have to move," she said as she headed towards the door. "Smile pretty," she said with a smile of her own as she opened the door and let everyone in. For a few anxious moments, they group trailed Gran as she inspected the ground floor of the Crap Shack.

"Where does she sleep?" Gran asked as they returned to the living room.

"Upstairs, with me," Lorelai replied as she kept Charlie from putting her fingers in her mouth, something she knew Gran disapproved of.

"She has her own bed?"

"Of course," Lorelai replied. She grinned a little as she saw the look on Emily's face.

"Let's go," Trix said all of a sudden as she turned on her heel and headed towards the door.

"Are we moving?" Rory whispered as she took Charlie while Lorelai grabbed their coats.

"I don't know," Lorelai replied as she put Charlie's coat and hat on before tossing on her own.

"Lorelai, I swear to God, if you prolong this evening. . . " Emily hissed as she stuck her head back in to the house.

"Coming," Lorelai said as she took Charlie back from Rory.

"Have fun," Rory called after them while hanging around in the doorway.

"No one appreciates your sarcasm, young lady," Emily hissed at her before she followed Lorelai out.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Gran asked when she saw Lorelai heading to the jeep.

"Oh, absolutely, but Charlie's car seat takes up a lot of room and dad doesn't have one in his car. We'll meet you there," Lorelai assured her with a smile. Gran nodded, satisfied with this and Emily sent Lorelai a withering stare for leaving her alone in the car with Gran.

* * *

Rory sighed contentedly to herself as she headed towards the square and the Winter Carnival. She smiled as she saw the square coming into view and the sounds of the music and the games began to reach her ears. Just as she checked over her shoulder before crossing the street, she caught a glance of a familiar black leather coat.

"Hey," Jess said as he caught up to Rory.

"Hey," she said with a smile as he threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her briefly. "I thought you weren't coming."

"Changed my mind," he said with a shrug as he looked both ways.

"Really?"

"Really," he said as they crossed the street.

"Why?" she asked him as she looped an arm around his waist.

"Just 'cause," he said as he paid for admission.

"Jess. . . "

"Just accept it, ok?" he asked. She eyed him for a moment before she stopped questioning him. She quickly sipped out from under his arm and grabbed his hand, quickly pulling him into the madness that was a Stars Hollow winter carnival.

* * *

"Your daughter is remarkably well behaved," Trix remarked as the waiters cleared the 8th course from the table. "However, I'm not sure if I approve of her reading at the same time." Lorelai grinned a little.

"Thank you Gran," she said. "Hello Sookie," Lorelai said with a smile as Sookie came over to check on the table.

"Everyone's still okay?" she asked, focusing on Lorelai, trying to pick up how the evening was going.

"I think we are," Lorelai replied as she glanced around the table.

"Excellent," she said. "I'll tell the servers to come and freshen your drinks," she said with a smile as she excused herself and headed back towards the kitchen. Just as the server finished refilling everyone's drinks, Trix made sure to ask him to start clearing plates as well.

"I'm not done," Emily said quickly. Lorelai perked up slightly when she heard this.

"What do you mean, you're not done? You had twelve minutes," Gran said as she glared at Emily across the table.

"I'm not done," she said again.

"Fine, we will wait," Gran said as she sat back in her chair slightly. Lorelai watched her mother slowly cut up her green beans before selecting each piece individually.

"That'll do pig, that'll do," she whispered across the table with a bit of a smile before she sipped at her water and turned her attention back to Charlie.

* * *

"Hey, I'll be right back," Rory said when she saw Lane's both.

"I'll go grab some sno-cones," Jess said as he wandered off towards the sno-cone stand while Rory jogged over to Lane.

"What exactly is Jess doing here?" Lane asked before Rory even had time to say hello.

"I don't know," she said. "I was on my way here and suddenly he was beside me."

"Weird," Lane said as she stared at him a moment longer.

"Not that weird, he is my boy friend," Rory said, defending Jess.

"This isn't exactly his scene," Lane pointed out as she played with the keys on her trumpet.

"Well, relationships are about compromise," Rory said with a smile as she fingered some of the letter signs that were resting on the table.

"Right," Lane said, not really believing this for a moment.

"Right," Rory said, not really understanding why Lane couldn't figure this out. "I should go," she said when she caught sight of Jess coming back from the Sno-cone stand.

"Let me know how it goes," Lane called out.

"Sure," Rory said with a smile as she turned and headed towards Jess.

* * *

"I'm going to put her to bed and then you are going to tell me all about the carnival," Lorelai said as Rory took the bag of take out and the take out coffee cups from her while Lorelai ducked into the house with a sleeping Charlie. She came out a few moments later, baby monitor in hand as they sat down on the steps to enjoy Sookie's fabulous food and the snow that was just starting to fall.

"Jess came with me," she said.

"Really," Lorelai said as she whipped her head around to look at Rory.

"Yeah. I was walking towards the square and suddenly there he was beside me, telling me that he was coming too," Rory said as she grabbed a piece of roll and used it to scoop up some mashed potatoes.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Lorelai remarked as she handed Rory the container that contained one of the cakes Sookie had made while Rory passed her the container she had been eating out of.

"What?"

"Well, the Stars Hollow High Winter Carnival doesn't exactly scream Jess Mariano," Lorelai remarked as she took a long pull from her coffee cup.

"That's what Lane said," Rory remarked with a smile. "Why is it so hard for people to accept that he did this because I wanted to?"

"Because Jess never does anything for someone else," Lorelai said as she pinched a raspberry off of the top of the cake.

"Mom!" Rory hissed at her.

"Sorry," she said. The pair watched each other for another moment before Rory turned back to the cake and Lorelai turned her attention to the falling snow.

"So, how was dinner?" Rory asked. She listened, slightly in disbelief as Lorelai spilled out the evening. "That is very impressive," she said at the end of the story.

"Not as impressive as my mother making four green beans last a half an hour. Or the fact that Charlie just sat, content, for the entire dinner, then promptly fell asleep in the car."

"I wish I'd seen that," Rory remarked.

"I though Gran was going to lunge across the table at my mother when she cut that last green bean into 6 pieces. Of course, the down side to this is that Charlie probably used up her Good Baby behaviour for the rest of the month tonight."

"Oh well, we don't have any other fancy dinners to go to, do we?"

"No, thankfully," Lorelai remarked, sipping at her coffee. "Oh well, we can always find out if Luke is still the Baby Whisperer," she quipped with a smile.

"What's going on with you two?" Rory asked after a moment of silence.

"With the two of who?" Lorelai asked absently as she pinched off a piece of cake and ate it.  
"You and Luke," she said as she turned to look at her mother.

"Nothing. Why?" Lorelai asked with a chuckle around her mouth full of cake.

"Just wondering," she said, a small smile on her lips as she finished off the cake.

"What?" Lorelai asked again.

"Nothing," Rory replied again. "I should head in, I have homework to do," she said as she quickly got up and headed into the house. Lorelai frowned as she watched Rory duck into the house before she turned her attention back to the snow that was still falling.

* * *

"Don't forget that you have to pick up Charlie tomorrow," Lorelai said as the three of them headed towards Luke's after International Grab Bag Night at Al's didn't work out.

"Right, that How To Run An Inn thing you and Sookie are going to," Rory said as she battled Charlie who didn't want her hand held. "Fine, run out into the middle of the street," she said as she let go.

"Rory!" Lorelai admonished as she grabbed Charlie by the hood of her coat to keep her from getting away.

"Sorry," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's just that this thing with Francie is really starting to bug me," she said as she spilled out the whole story. Lorelai looked over at her for a moment before throwing an arm over Rory's shoulders and pulling her close.

"I am going to pawn her off on some one this weekend and you and me? We are gonna do what ever we want, when ever we want. Good deal?"

"Good deal," Rory said with a sigh as they came up to the diner.

"So," Luke said as he came over. "Everyone is well again?" he asked after they were all seated.

"Even the colds are finally gone," Lorelai said. Herself and Charlie had each caught at least one more cold after the flu incident.

"Good," he said with a smile.

"Yes, and we are making up for be sick," Lorelai said as she ordered for herself and Charlie.

"In a big way," Rory said with a smile as she ordered.

"You three give gluttons a bad name," he told them before he headed off to place the order and to bring drinks over. Lorelai and Rory giggled as he walked off before they fell into an easy conversation.

* * *

"Oh my God, I should have listened to Michel," Lorelai muttered as she tried to stay awake during the horrible presentation. She shook her head as she realised that she and Sookie had each paid seventy-five dollars to sit through this thing with some guy telling them everything they already knew, but in a really horrible monotone voice. She turned slightly to look at Sookie who seemed to be thinking the same things as she was, only Sookie was resting her head in one had as she doodled on the hand outs they had been given.

Lorelai sighed and turned her attention back to the speaker for a moment until an idea flew threw her head. She slowly pulled one of the pieces of paper out of the folder and began to fold it. Sookie glanced over a few times, but didn't put together what she was doing.

"I can't believe you're taking notes," Sookie lamented as Lorelai worked at filling in all the fortunes. "He has said nothing in the last two hours that we didn't already know, and he's saying it really condescendingly. So, in addition to being bored, I'm getting hostile and a little insecure 'cause you're studying and I'm not."

"Pick a colour!" Lorelai said with a smile as she dropped her pen onto the table and slipped the cootie catcher onto her hands.

"Pink!" Sookie said excitedly, both trying to keep their voices down.

"Because you're a girl!"

"Exactly," Sookie said.

"P-I-N-K. Pick a number."

"5." Sookie waited as Lorelai fumbled with the flap.

"You will marry Shaun Cassidy and cheat with David," she read, a smile still on her face.

"Well, good for me," Sookie mused with a smile as she waited for Lorelai to hand it over.

"My turn!" she said as she handed the toy to Sookie. They both grew red in the face as the guy giving the lecture stopped and asked them to be quiet. They muttered apologies and tried to explain briefly before they just gave up and slumped down in their chairs. Just as they thought they were going to be able to escape, another man stepped up, in a bad blue suit, and started to show them properties.

"It's a sales pitch?" Sookie asked.

"They spend two hours telling us nothing, then try to sell us lame property?" Lorelai asked, turning to look at Sookie. They complained for a moment longer.

"So, what do we do?"

"I'm crushing your head, I'm crushing your head," Lorelai muttered as she pretended to crush the heads of some one in one of the slides. "Let's go," she said when she was done. They both grabbed their coats and snuck out of the room as quickly as they could, mocking the presentation as they went. Just when they thought they were going to be able to make up their enrolment fee in cookies, two guys walked up to them.

"Oh my God! Joe! Joe! Joe from the Deerhill Lodge!" Sookie gushed as she realised she knew one of them. Lorelai was quickly introduced to Joe, and his business partner Alex, before Sookie and Joe began to talk about working at the Lodge together, leaving Alex and Lorelai to fend for themselves.

"Hey, if you ever see Fat Sal, give him a kiss for me," Lorelai called to Alex when they all finally parted ways.

"I'll do that," Alex said, offering a smile.

"Okay," Lorelai said as she returned it.

"Bye!" Sookie called to Joe. "Wait, so you and that guy knew each other too? What a coincidence!"

"Come on, honey," Lorelai said as she steered Sookie towards the door while she let her in on the fact that no, they didn't know each other but it beat just standing there awkwardly.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Luke asked when he found Rory in the back corner of the diner, her school books spread out over the table and Charlie casually observing the diner patrons.

"My home work," she replied casually as she scanned a text book before writing down some notes.

"And you're not doing this at home because?"

"Because when we're at home, she wants to have free reign on the house and that means she needs to be watched and that means I can't study." Luke looked at Rory for a moment before he looked around the diner.

"How long do you need?" he asked with a sigh.

"Why?" Rory asked him, not looking up from her work.

"Because I asked. How long?"

"Here? A couple of hours. If I didn't have to watch her, maybe an hour. Why?" she asked again, finally looking up at him instead of her text book.

"Go home," he said as he freed Charlie from the high chair.

"But. . . "

"Come back in an hour," he said. "Caesar, I'll be back in an hour!"

"Sure thing," Caesar called. Rory sat in her chair for a moment as she watched Luke head upstairs, her baby sister in his arms, and she didn't really know what to say.

"Thanks Luke!" she finally called out before the pair disappeared behind the curtain that led up to his apartment. With a sigh, Rory drained the last of her coffee, packed up her things and high tailed it home.

"Down, down," Charlie wiggled as soon as they were inside the apartment. Luke dropped her to the ground and she laughed as she felt the rush of air around her. He caught her again just before her feet hit the ground and once she had her balance, she was off, heading to the closet where he had stashed a few toys he had picked up for her and some that had been left behind on other baby sitting forays.

Luke opened the closet door for her before he scanned the apartment for things he needed to put up. He didn't have many breakables to begin with, but Jess tended to leave his things laying around, no matter how many times Luke warned him that Lorelai had a tendency to just drop the toddler off at a moments notice.

"Duke?" Luke put the plates and cups in his hand in the sink before he ventured over to her.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Dat?" Charlie asked as she patted a large, heavy bag that was sitting in the bottom of the closet.

"That would be for the next time your mother dumps you on me during a rush," he replied as he grabbed the cardboard box that held the toys. "Here, go to town," he said as he opened it and put it in front of her. Charlie cast one more glance at the mystery bag before she turned her attention to the box and began to dig things out.

* * *

"Done?" Luke asked an hour later when he saw Rory in the diner again.

"Yes, thank you," she said as she watched him and Charlie refill a few more coffee cups before he walked over to her.

"Dinner?" he asked as he handed her the toddler.

"Yes, please," she said. "Something for mom too."

"You got it," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen as Lorelai breezed into the diner and greeted her girls brightly.

* * *

True enough to his word, Joe showed up at the Inn the next day, looking for Sookie. Unfortunately for her, what she thought was just two old friends going out to dinner was actually a date. After a quick panic and consultation with Lorelai, Sookie had headed back into the kitchen, shown Joe her wedding ring and let him down as gently as she could.

"See, he's smiling," Lorelai assured her after Joe had left. "I knew it was nothing to get worked up over. You obviously let him down very well, and now maybe you guys can be friends."

"I'm a whore!" Sookie yelled as she rushed back into the kitchen, leaving Lorelai standing in the middle of the lobby, trying to figure out exactly what had just happened.

* * *

Lorelai grumbled to herself as she flipped through some of the bills in front of her. She cast a glance at Charlie, who was finally starting to wind down for the night before she went back to writing cheques.

"She's still up?" Rory asked when she came out of her room and saw Charlie on the floor, flipping through a picture book.

"She's on her way out," she said as she put her pen down and sat back on the couch.

"Oh. Well, I'm going to bed," Rory said quietly as she wandered over the couch.

"At 9:30?" her mother asked after checking he time on the VCR

"Yeah, well, going a whole day without talking to anyone is a lot more tiring than you think," she said as she slid down onto the couch beside Lorelai.

"I hate those girls," she said with a shake of her head.

"It's fine," Rory assured her. "It was the first lunch that didn't start with a recitation of the calorie content of everything on the table, so actually it was kind of a relief."

"I hate them anyhow," Lorelai said casually.

"Night," Rory said with a smile as she headed to bed.

"Night babe," she called after her. "Now, wouldn't you like to follow her example?" she asked Charlie. The toddler simply looked up at her for a moment before she crawled over and asked to be picked up, immediately snuggling into Lorelai's arms. Just as she was getting up to take Charlie upstairs, the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Lorelai, it's Alex Lesman. We met at The Learning Center the other day. My friend accidentally asked your friend out on a date."

"Um, right, hi," she said as she headed back over to the couch. Alex quickly explained how he got the number and Lorelai made a crack about how Michel would be fired in the morning.

"Well, I was wondering something. On weekends, I like to go to different coffee shops, try their coffee, look at what they're doing," he said, she could almost hear the nervous smile in his voice.

"See if there's anything you can steal and possibly disguise as your own?" she asked as she started to relax into the conversation. He agreed and then lamented about how he some times couldn't tell the difference and it would really help if he had some one else to help him out and, would she, by chance be interested? "Sure," she said right away.

"Great. Just to be on the safe side, you do know this is a date, right?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh yeah," she said with a smile. "I got that."

"Good," he said. She quickly drew him into a conversation about possible names for his coffee shop before she had to end the conversation on account of Charlie falling asleep in her arms and becoming very heavy, very fast. She smiled to herself as she gathered her up and headed up stairs.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Holy reviews Batman! You guys totally blew away my expectations last chapter! Why yes, I am starting to cook up a little 'thank you' that will be heavy on the LL. . .

* * *

"So, who called last night?" Rory asked as she and Lorelai walked towards Luke's, Charlie at home, already battling Heather for who was going to control the goings on that day.

"What?"

"Some one called, just after I went to bed, who was it?" she asked again, tucking her hands into her pockets as they went.

"Alex," Lorelai answered, a small smile on her face. She squinted into the light as they checked for cars before crossing the street.

"Mom!" Rory complained. Lorelai chuckled before she spilled out who Alex was and the conversation they'd had. "A coffee tasting?"

"Yes," she said with a large smile.

"He has the potential to be the perfect man," Rory replied as they walked across the square.

"I'll say," she said. "We have to clean out the garage Saturday morning."

"Right, so the band can get in there," she said. "Hopefully everything living in there will have moved out by now."

"Here here," Lorelai said as they headed into Luke's.

"There are only two of you," he said as he watched them sit down.

"Good job Luke! Now, how many fingers am I holding up?" Lorelai asked as she held up four fingers. Rory snickered behind her hand as she took her coat and hat off. Luke frowned.

"You usually make it a point to have breakfast with Charlie before you leave."

"Yeah well, the little dictator is at home battling Heather for control," she said. "Coffee and eggs?" she asked.

"Me too," Rory said. Luke shook his head before he headed off to fill orders.

* * *

"Whoa," was all Lorelai could say when she got into the house. The living room was a disaster area, clothes, toys, books, blankets and anything that wasn't nailed down as strewn all over the place. As she got over the shock of the state of the house, she quickly became aware that the little one of the house was screaming her displeasure at something at the top of her lungs. She hung up her coat and dropped her purse by the door before she headed up stairs. "Hey," she called to Heather who was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of soapy water. "I don't want to know," she told her.

"Probably for the best," she said as she continued into the living room and Lorelai headed up stairs.

"HEY!" she yelled at Charlie who was screaming away, banging something against the bars of her crib. Charlie stopped abruptly when she heard this.

"OUT!" she shouted back as she stood up.

"What is your big problem?" Lorelai asked as she came to stand in front of the 20 month old.

"Out! Out! Out!" she said, bouncing up and down slightly. When her mother continued to just look at her, Charlie whined one last time as she sunk down and simply hung off of the guard rail of the crib.

"You are dramatic today. What's wrong," she asked as she finally picked Charlie up. Charlie didn't say anything, but she continued to pout. "Ah, I see. Aren't you supposed to start this in about 4 months? You're not two yet," she pointed out. Charlie didn't respond, she simply pointed back at the crib. "Back in?" Lorelai asked.

"Bah!" Charlie said, leaning towards the crib.

"My apologies," Lorelai told her as she grabbed one of the blankets and handed it to Charlie. She let out a sigh before she started pointing again. Lorelai shook her head as she dug out the pacifier that was in there too and she watched as Charlie took it and held on to it as she chewed on it. "And the light bulb goes on," she muttered. "Teeth?" she asked as she opened her mouth and Charlie did the same. Sure enough, there were two little white bumps where teeth were working their way through. "We'll pick something up before dinner, ok?" she asked as she kissed her on the forehead before they headed down stairs.

"Go?" Charlie asked when they couldn't find Heather.

"Looks like," she said as they took in the some what cleaner living room. They looked at each other for a moment before Lorelai headed towards the couch and sat down. "I think this calls for some cartoons," she said. They quickly made themselves comfortable to wait for Rory to get home.

* * *

"Okay, Charlie is learning to play the piano with Morey and Babette for the next couple of hours," Lorelai said as she met Rory in front of the garage.

"Okay," Rory replied as they stood in front of the garage doors. "So, how long has it been since we opened these doors?"

"I'd say three years," Lorelai said after a moment.

"I'd say more like four," Rory said, pursing her lips as she considered this.

"What? It has not been four years since we set foot inside our own garage," she said as she turned to look at Rory.

"It was when we got the Jeep," she answered.

"That wasn't . . . It was!" Lorelai responded as she thought about it.

"And, even then, I think we only got as far as opening the door before something flew out and scared you," Rory gleefully pointed out, smiling in amusement as she remembered the last time they had tried to clean out the garage.

"Yes, it scared me while you stood calmly like Dr. Doolittle chatting with the bat," she said with a smirk as she turned to look at Rory.

"It was a bat, wasn't it?" she asked as she pointed at Lorelai.

"Wearing an OzzFest T-shirt, I believe," she quipped. She couldn't resist the jab at Ozzy.

"Will the man never be able to live that down?"

"So, uh, what do we do about the bat cave?" Lorelai asked as she pointed towards the garage.

"Well, we did promise Lane that her band could rehearse here," Rory pointed out and Lorelai agreed. "And they'll probably need to actually get in here to do so. . . "

"So. . . I guess we're going in," Lorelai said as they stepped closer to the door.

"I guess we are," Rory said as she grabbed one of the door handles.

"Alright, on three," Lorelai said as she undid the latch. "One, two, three!" she called as they both pulled and swung the doors opens. Rory immediately began pointing out boxes that Lorelai was supposed to have donated to Good Will while Lorelai tried start clearing things out.

"Wait!" Rory yelled as she caught a faded blue ball Lorelai tossed out of the garage.

"What?" she asked.

"Hug-a-World!" Rory cried as she hugged it. Lorelai simply stared at her for a moment before Rory began to remind her about all the trips they planned with Hug-a-World. "We can clean him up and keep him, can't we?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure. Throw him outside and I'll see what I can do. Maybe we can even teach Charlie where Canada is on it," Lorelai suggested with a shrug. "Keep the tradition alive."

"Thank you," Rory replied with a large smile as she tossed it outside.

"If I clean up Hug-a-World, does that cancel out me not getting rid of the boxes?" Lorelai asked as she keep her eyes on Hug-a-World.

"I'll consider it a wash," Rory said as she started to reach for things in the garage.

"How about if I chase it and bring it back?" Lorelai asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Hug-a-World wants to see the world," Lorelai said, sounding slightly disgusted as she pointed a finger at the stuffed blue globe that was slowly moving down the driveway.

"It's moving," Rory exclaimed, more than a little horrified.

"There's something living there besides Canadians," Lorelai remarked.

"I hugged it, I hugged it really tight!" Rory moaned as she pulled at her sweater.

"Yes, you did," Lorelai said, equally disgusted, pointing at Rory's sweater.

"I have to shower!" Rory cried as she ran off towards the house.

"Hey, hey, hey what about the rest of the garage? Rory!" Lorelai called after her. "Hey, how 'bout if Lane's band rehearses in the kitchen? We don't use that either!" she called out. She waited for a moment and when she got no response, she cast one last look at Hug-a-World that was still crawling away before she turned her full attention to the garage and started to pull things out.

* * *

Lane and the band arrived later in the afternoon with industrial staplers and rolls of carpet to provide some sound proofing in the garage.

"I've already talked to all the neighbours," Lorelai told Lane. "Just make sure you keep the doors closed, you don't start practicing before 2 without giving me warning and the music must stop by 8."

"Why not before 2 without warning?" Brian asked as he grabbed another roll of carpet.

"I have an almost 2 year old who will most definitely be up from her nap by 2."

"You do?" Brian said.

"Right over there, Brian," she said as she put an arm around Brian's shoulder before pointing to where Rory was helping Charlie investigate one of the carpet rolls.

"Huh, look at that," he said. The pair stood for a moment longer before he wandered back into the garage. Lorelai eyed him for a moment, but quickly turned her attention back to Lane.  
"Don't worry, I will remember the 2 pm rule and I have to be home by 6." Lorelai smiled as Lane rushed off to help the boys. Unfortunately, before she could get away, Zach was talking to her, trying to pick her up.

"Do you need any help?" she asked Rory quickly.

"Nope," she replied with an amused smile.

"Do you need any help, please?" she asked, her eyes wide as she nodded her head, trying to make Rory give the right answer.

"I'm good, Pamela Des Barres," Rory replied as she slipped off to help Charlie play in the snow.

"When did you turn on Mommy?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. Rory paused and turned around to look at Lorelai.

"What? He's cute," she said. By the time they finished staring at each other, Charlie had wandered over to Rory.

"Well, since you don't need any help, just a new place to live, I'm gonna go," she said as she shot Rory a look. She quickly walked over to Rory and took Charlie from her and headed towards the house.. Her get away was blocked by Zach who was back again, still trying to pick her up. She made some quick excuses and finally got away.

"Bye Pam!" Rory cheerfully called out after her.

* * *

Lorelai sat back in her chair and took a look around the coffee shop. Alex had managed to find one in Hartford that she had never been in before. Just as she was starting to read the signs that were posted around the shop, Alex came back to the table and told her about the coffee he had just brought. She bugged him about being a cheap date before he explained that he had to promise to stock his shop from their warehouse.

"So, actually, this date is costing me about eleven thousand dollars a month," he pointed out.

"Jeez, I hope I'm worth it," she said, a smile on her face.

"So far so good," he replied.

"So, we were talking about kids?" she asked, leaning on the table.

"Yes, your girls," he said, leaning slightly on the table.

"Rory and Charlie," she said with a smile. "Rory's 18 and gunning for the Ivy leagues and Charlie is just about 2 and gunning for full sentences." He smiled at this.

"Their dad, if you don't mind me asking."

"He's . . .complicated," she said, playing with her coffee cup. "What about yours?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Hillary and Jeff, 6 and 9. They live with their mom, but I see them all the time. They both recently started soccer because apparently it's the law."

"Rory's still got an outstanding warrant on that one," she joked. "Any hobbies?"

"Not a hobby guy," he replied.

"Hallelujah," Lorelai proclaimed.

"Most of the time I'm working, with the kids or I'm charming the chicks with the coffee. And then, a few times a year, I'll go camping or fishing. I actually really love that stuff."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, trying to sound interested, but not to enthusiastic.

"Absolutely. How about you?" And what happened next would mystify Lorelai for years to come. She heard him ask her if she liked to camp and fish and, before she knew it, she heard herself telling him that she loved the outdoors and that she would love to go fishing with him on Saturday. She also vaguely heard herself telling him that she was ready to try a blend from Peru. As her brain caught up with her mouth, she was more than a little shocked at what she had just agreed to do.

* * *

Lorelai sat on a stool in the kitchen of the Inn a few days later, telling Sookie the story as the chef put the finishing touches on a cake she was working on. Lorelai couldn't help but smile as Sookie explained the origins of her frog collection.

"I'm the frog girl," Sookie said with a bit of a giggle.

"You never told him you don't love frogs?" Lorelai asked as she spun slightly on the stool, bowl of raspberries in her hand, so she could face Sookie.

"No," she said as she tossed a few of the berries on to something else. "He has the best time buying them for me, so I just let him buy them."

"That's sweet," Lorelai said as she considered her options. "Maybe I could go fishing. Maybe. Once," she tacked on the end of her thought. Lorelai quickly told Sookie about Alex, still mulling over what she was going to do.

"So?" Sookie asked.

"So. . . I'm going fishing," she said slowly. "I'm the fish girl."

"Frog girl welcomes you to the club!" Sookie said with a large smile as she clapped her hands a little before patting Lorelai on the back.

* * *

While Lorelai was lamenting to Sookie about fishing, Luke was discovering that there was a somewhat pleasant side to being in business with Taylor. He glanced up at the pretty red-headed lawyer, Nicole Leahy, before he went back to signing the lease forms. The pair spent another moment mocking Taylor before she took the signed forms from him. She looked them over for a moment before she congratulated Luke on now officially being in business with Taylor.

"Uh, I will let you get back to work," she said with a smile as she filed the forms in her briefcase. "Let me. . ." she trailed off as she started to dig around in her bag to find cash to pay for the coffee.

"No, no, on me," Luke said, a some what goofy smile on his face.

"Tell you what," she said, ever the diplomat. "It's business, let's let Mr. Doose pay for it."

"Even better," he said, hands on his hips. He offered her one last smile that she returned before she quickly turned and left the diner.

"Well, that was an interesting show," Jess remarked as he finally moved out from behind the counter. He had stopped serving people so he could watch the whole performance.

"What are you yammering about?" Luke asked as he finally pulled his eyes away from Nicole's retreating form.

"Guess Gloria Allred wants to go slumming," he said as he headed out to refill a few coffees.

"Shut up," Luke shot back. The pair bandied back and forth about Nicole for a moment before Jess started to poke fun at Luke's dating habits.

"See, I'm gonna go pick Rory up. We're gonna spend a few hours together and then I'm gonna give her a ride home. That's called the end of a date."

"Or, I could stay open a few hours later, which means you're here 'til ten. That's also called the end of a date," Luke pointed out.

"Hopeless," Jess said casually as he put the coffee pot back on the element before he headed out.

"Bye now," Luke called after him, effectively ending the conversation.

* * *

A few days later, Luke began to wonder why he agreed to teach Lorelai how to fish as he stood outside her house, filling a kiddie pool with her hose. He sighed as he focused on the fishing gear that was still in the back of his truck before he cast a glance at the four trout he had in a bucket next to the almost full pool. He stood for a few more moments before he dropped the hose and turned off the water. He honked the horn as he grabbed his rods and tackle box.

"Let's go," he called to her.

"Hello sailor, bait your hook for you?" she asked as she appeared on the porch, decked out in full fishing gear: waders, hat and a vest with various lures attached to it.

"You look ridiculous," he remarked as he took in her outfit. Lorelai gushed about her outfit before Luke led her to the pool he had set up.

"You're putting me in the kiddie lake?" Lorelai exclaimed when she saw this. "There's not even fish in it!" she lamented as Luke gabbed the bucket and dumped the fish in.

"Trout," he said simply as he put the bucket down again and grabbed one of the rods. He rolled his eyes as Lorelai named all the fish before they could start. He quickly showed her how to hold the rod and how to cast and soon Lorelai had successfully cast her line into the pool. Luke quickly grabbed the other rod and cast it into the pool before he began to bug her about why, exactly, she was learning to fish.

She eventually spilled out that she was learning this because of the guy she was dating. The conversation died for a moment until Luke told her that she could borrow one of his rods and a tackle box.

"You know, if you want," he said casually, shrugging nonchalantly.

"That would be great," she replied, casting a glance at him before returning her focus to the pool. "Can you do me one more favour?" she asked him.

"Sure," he said, turning to look at her.

"Put a cork on your hook." He looked at her for another moment before he handed his rod to her.

"Sure," he replied. She smiled as she watched him dig a cork out of one of his tackle boxes.  
"Where's Charlie going to be while you're fishing?"

"She will be going to her first Kim wedding with Rory," she replied.

"Sounds like a hoot," he muttered as he grabbed his line and struggled with it for a moment until he got a hold of his hook.

"Rory seems to enjoy them," she said with a shrug. He shook his head as he got the cork on his hook and came back to stand beside her as they continued to 'fish'.

* * *

Rory collapsed back onto the couch after her mother and Alex left the house to go fishing and she slept happily until Charlie started shouting from upstairs, trying to get some one, anyone to come and cater to her needs. With a groan, Rory pulled herself up and headed upstairs. The pair shared a quiet breakfast of Pop Tarts and left over fruit salad from Sookie before Rory dumped Charlie back in the crib while she went and showered.

Before Rory knew it, the morning had past and it was time to bundle Charlie up and head to Lane's for the wedding.

"You look tired," Lane commented as Rory and Charlie arrived. Rory shook her head as she handed Charlie to Lane.

"My mother went fishing this morning and set my alarm instead of hers," Rory said, trying to keep the slight bitterness out of her tone, but she wasn't entirely successful.

"Lorelai went fishing?" Lane asked as Rory stripped her sister of her coat and they headed upstairs.

"The things you do for love," she commented.

"Apparently," she said as he put Charlie on the ground once they were in her room.

"But, he's also going to take her to a spa after, so it should all be okay," Rory said with a shrug before Lane introduced her to the bride.

"Water," Lane said after the bride asked for something in Korean. "I'll be right back," she said as she quickly ducked out of the room. Rory watched her go for a moment before she cast a quickly glance at Charlie. Satisfied she wasn't getting into any trouble, she began on the bride's hair.

* * *

Jess tried to keep the smirk off of his face when he noticed Luke staring at that lawyer through the window. His amusement grew even more when Luke stalked out of the diner and started to talk to her. He cocked his head to the side slightly as he watched the performance Luke was giving.

He chuckled a little when Luke walked back into the diner.

"Shut up," Luke said automatically.

"I said nothing," Jess pointed out.

"Well don't," Luke said, pointing a finger at Jess before he headed for the coffee pot. Jess had to admit to himself that there was something impressive about watching his uncle ask a woman out, if only because he had never done it before.

* * *

"What's this?" Jess asked when Rory met up with him, Charlie in her arms.

"Mom's out for the day, so she's all mine. This a problem?" Rory asked as she pulled Charlie's hat up so it was out of her eyes. She was really starting to wonder why they wouldn't find her a hat that fit.

"Guess not," he said with a shrug as he and Charlie sized each other up. "Just have to change plans, that's all."

"She's pretty quiet," Rory said. "We could grab something to eat, or see a movie. Black White and Read is playing a matinee today."

"Sure, let's go watch a bad movie," he said as he threw an arm over Rory's shoulder as they wandered towards the book store.

* * *

By the time Jess walked Rory and Charlie home, the toddler had warmed up to Jess and he was starting to come around to her as well.

"Jess," Rory said to her.

"Dess," Charlie said, very proud of her self.

"Jess," he said, turning to look at her.

"Dess."

"Jess," he said, pointing a finger at her.

"Dess," she replied with a giggle as she grabbed his finger.

"Don't worry," Rory said. "She does it to Luke all the time. He's been trying to break her of it for almost a year."

"Well, doesn't that just make me feel better," he muttered as they came up to the porch. "See ya later," he said as he kissed her. They both snickered when they broke apart. The kiss had been awkward because of Charlie and they hadn't had a kiss that awkward since they started going out.

"Bye," Rory finally said, laughing again as Charlie called out after him as well. "We're home!" Rory called when they finally walked into the house.

"Upstairs, bathroom!" Lorelai called.

"Momma?" Charlie asked, pointing towards the stairs.

"Yeah, let's go see mom," she said as she took off Charlie's coat before setting her on the ground. She watched as Charlie headed for the stairs and started to climb them one at a time while holding tightly to the banister. Rory quickly took off her own coat and headed up the stairs herself, taking Charlie's hand to help her out.

"Momma!" Charlie called as she barrelled into the bathroom and into Lorelai's arms.

"Hey," Rory said with a smile. "Oh no," she said when she saw what was in the tub.

"Dat?" Charlie asked, pointing.

"It's a fish," Lorelai said with a smile. "Isn't she cute?"

"What happened?" Rory asked as she took a seat on the floor at the other end of the tub.

"The cork fell off my hook and Jayne Mansfield over here bit," Lorelai explained.

"Jayne Mansfield," Rory remarked.

"Not the brightest fish in the pond, but she's awfully pretty."

"How are you gonna take a bath?" Rory asked. "How long is it gonna live? What are you gonna feed it?"

"See, this is why I don't fish," Lorelai said, furrowing her brow as she and Charlie looked in the tub again.

"She is kind of cute," Rory admitted.

"And she has a great tail swish." Rory sighed and then asked how the fishing was. She was more than a little relieved to hear her mother say that she wouldn't be doing it again any time soon. "The lake was also just down the road from the Shahaela Lodge and Spa."

"I knew that," Rory said casually, still staring at Jayne. "Alex told me before you guys left."

"Two dates with the guy and you're already in cahoots with each other."

"What can I say? I'm wily," Rory remarked before asking about the chances of sending Jayne back to the wild.

"Maybe we can train her to do tricks," Lorelai said, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow," Rory said as she stood up. "Night Jayne," she called as she left the room.

"Night Jayne," Lorelai said too, as she got up and turned out the light.

"Night!" Charlie threw in, waiving at the fish over her mother's shoulder.

* * *

"So, you're busy at school all day today?" Lorelai asked as she and Rory headed to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin from Luke's.

"Yeah," she said as they dashed across the street. "I'll stop by the book store if I have time before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's."

"IF you have time?" Lorelai asked as she went into Luke's. "What are you going to do for nearly 4 hours after school?"

"There's stuff for the Franklin that's due, and then I have homework and extra credit to get started on as well as some studying to do," she said as they slid on to a pair of stools at the counter.

"Coffees and blue berry muffins," Lorelai said.

"Toasted," Rory threw in.

"Well, good morning to you too," Luke said as he filled a couple of to-go cups.

"We're running late," Lorelai said as she accepted her cup.

"I gathered," he said as he tossed the muffins in the roaster oven. "So, how's. . . what did you call her?"

"The little Dictator?" Rory supplied as she drank her coffee.

"Yeah, the little Dictator, how is she?" he asked with a smile.

"Better," Lorelai said. "The last of her teeth are coming in, so, it should be a fun couple of weeks."

"Good luck with that," he said as the toaster oven dinged. He shoved the muffins into separate bags and handed them to the girls.

"Thanks Luke," Rory said as she grabbed her bag and started to run for the bus.

"Thanks," she said as she counted out a few bills and handed them to him. "Hey, maybe if you're really good, I'll bring Charlie over to see you at some point this week."

"Well, let me put on my excited face," he muttered before he pushed away from the counter. "Where are you going?"

"School," Jess said as he button his coat. The pair glared at each other for a moment while Lorelai glanced between the two. "So?" Jess finally asked.

"Get lost," Luke finally grumbled.

"With pleasure," Jess muttered as he ducked out the door.

"What's up with that?" Lorelai asked as she came back to the counter.

"He's parkin' his car around the corner," he said in a hushed tone as he leaned close to her.

"So?"

"So. . . When I used to do that, it was so that my dad wouldn't see me getting into it to drive some where while I was supposed to be at school," he explained.

"And you're worried that he's doing the same?" she asked him, giving him a sympathetic look. Luke shrugged a little as he wiped the counter down. "Didn't you tell him he had to go to school?"

"I did," Luke answered.  
"And he had to graduate to stay here?" Lorelai was having a hard time understanding why Luke wasn't more upset about this.

"Look, I don't know what the story is. He won't talk to me, and when he does, I wouldn't be surprised if he's lying through his teeth. Until I see other wise, I gotta trust him and it would be a lot easier to do that without you putting ideas in my head."

"Ok, fine. Sorry I even said anything. Jess is a straight A student who helps the little old ladies cross the street," she said as she finally stood up from the stool. "In fact, he's such a diligent student that he's giving Rory a run for her money."

"Bye," was all he said, brow furrowed slightly.

"Bye," she shot back as she sauntered out of the diner.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Hello again my weary readers! New format from now on, one episode per chapter. (Mostly because I didn't want to break any of this up.)

It's a long read, so get ready.

* * *

"So, what are your plans for Charlie's second birthday?" Emily asked Lorelai as they all sat in the living room of the Gilmore Mansion, waiting for Friday Night dinner to be put on the table.

"Mom, that's 4 months away," Lorelai pointed out as she accepted something from Charlie. Satisfied with her delivery, Charlie quickly hurried back to her toys to pick something else out.

"I know, but as she's turning two, you and Rory are heading off to Europe for two months. Now would be a good time to start planning, so you don't have to worry about it," Emily pointed out as Charlie came to deliver a toy to her. "You certainly are a busy little girl, aren't you?" she asked Charlie. The little girl looked up at her for a moment before she went back to the small toy box that had taken up residence in the living room.

"I dunno mom, we'll probably just eat a whole bunch of junk food, have some cake and hang out," Lorelai responded with a shrug.

"That's hardly a suitable birthday party," Emily said as she shifty on the couch.

"She's gonna be 2, mom. She doesn't go to day care, she doesn't really play with any kids her own age on a regular basis. . . There's no reason to turn this into a big deal," Lorelai pleaded with her mother as she stopped Charlie from helping herself to some martini. "Your cup is in the bag," she told Charlie.

"No," Charlie said, shaking her head. "Dat!" Charlie called as she pointed to the martini.

"I'm telling you what I told Rory. There will be no drinking until you are 21. And, at the very least, there will be no illegal drinking until you're 16. Get lost," she said, pointing towards Charlie's bag. Charlie pouted for a moment before she changed tactics and headed off to try her luck with Emily.

"I am so sorry I'm late," Rory said as she rushed into the living room. "Hi Grandma, Hi mom, Hi Charlie," she said.

"Ah, Rory, you're here," Richard said as he came into the living room.  
"Ah, for her you leave your study," Emily remarked as Charlie finally stopped trying to get her drink and headed to Richard for some love and sympathy.

"Hey Grandpa," Rory said. "Mom, I made it to the book store," she said with a smile as she slipped off her back pack and dropped down onto the couch beside her mother.

"You got 'em?" she asked as she took one of the books from Rory and started to flip through it.

"I got 'em," Rory agreed.

"Got what?" Emily asked as Richard and Charlie came to sit beside her.

"Rory and I are starting to plan our Europe trip," Lorelai replied as she and Rory passed their books to Emily and Richard. Lorelai and Rory defended their choice the back pack across Europe while Richard and Emily laughed, thinking it was all a joke. When they realized that they weren't joking, they quickly began trying to change their minds, even going so far as to offer to pay for them to have a 'proper' European excursion.

"My first trip to Europe, I went to Paris and stayed at the Ritz!" Emily exclaimed, still in total disbelief that Rory and Lorelai would even consider sleeping on a bench.

"Well, I tell you what, if it'll make you happy, we'll go to Paris and eat out of their dumpster," Lorelai said with a cheeky smile on her face.

* * *

Jess pushed past Luke a few days later and actually had to stop and turn around to look at Luke. His uncle was hunched over something as he leaned against the counter.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he leaned on the counter beside Luke.

"Nothing," Luke shot back, not looking up from what he was doing.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

"None of your business." Jess eyed Luke for a moment before he shot a hand out and grabbed what ever was in Luke's hands.

"Hidden Romantic Gems of the Restaurant World. Seriously?" Jess asked, not even bothering to hide the smile on his face.

"Give me that," he said as he plucked it out of Jess' hands and started to read again. The pair discussed the situation for a moment before Jess got in a few more jabs.

"You are really going through an awful lot for this lawyer," Jess pointed out. "You are really pathetic when you're in love."

"I'm not in love, I'm dating," Luke fired back, casting a side long glance at his nephew. "This is what you do when you're dating."  
"It's not what I do when I'm dating," Jess pointed out.

"Well, Rory's a lucky girl. Work, I'm going upstairs," Luke grumbled as he pushed past Jess and headed up to the apartment.

"Fine, but if a horse-drawn carriage show up here, my throwing up will be eternal!" he called up after Luke, a smile quirking his lips before he went back to serving the patrons.

* * *

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she marched back up to the front desk after having to tell the maintenance people that the theme for the retirement party had changed again.

"We need to call the florist," she muttered as Michel trailed after her, babbling on about what the theme should be.

"Well, fine then," Michel snapped when Lorelai wouldn't let him bury the guy alive. "What is the new theme?"

"He is calling me back at four," she said as Lane got up from the couch where she had been stringing mini putt golf balls.

"I got the flags and. . . He changed his mind again," Rory announced as she came into the Inn carrying two golf flags in her hand.

"He's worse than my mother at the Glory of Easter T-shirt stand," Lane complained as she threw on her coat before stalking out of the Inn and heading home. Michel made a few more cracks as Lane left.

"Call the florist!" Lorelai yelled at him before he finally went to do that.

"You're stressed," Rory said after a moment.

"You're observant," Lorelai quipped as she headed to the couch as Rory followed her.

"Well, I was going to save this for later, but you look like you need it now," she said as she pulled out an envelope.

"What's that?" Lorelai asked, eyes lighting up as Rory opened it.

"I have been cordially invited to Sherry Tinsdale's C-section," Rory announced as she opened the invitation.

"No way!" Lorelai hissed, not believing this for a second.

"Friday, February seventh, six o'clock pm. Join the girls for a toast, a hug, a wave to the mommy as they wheel her off, dinner at Sushi Sushi and then back to the hospital for a formal viewing of brand-new baby Georgia. RSVP at your earliest convenience. P.S. Gifts are not necessary, but always appreciated," Rory read. The pair sat there for a moment before they both started to poke fun at the whole situation.

"I wonder if Laura Mercier makes Demerol," Lorelai said as she sat back and considered the possibility. Rory snickered, but sobered up as she admitted that she was going to go to it.

"I kind of want to see Georgia, she's sort of my sister, our sister, mine and Charlie's."

"She more than sort of your sister," she pointed out. "She is you sister, even if she's just your half sister." They looked at each other for a moment before Lorelai pulled the invitation out of the envelope to look at it again. "Oh my God," she said as she read it again.

"What?"

"P.P.S. Feel free to bring your mother and Charlie!" Lorelai read.

"Really?" Rory asked as she plucked the invitation from Lorelai's hands. "How do I keep missing the P.S.es??"

"I have no idea. How did you miss this?" she said as she leaned against Rory so they could both stare at the P.P.S. "Are you coming?"

"Maybe if there was a gun to my head," Lorelai replied.

"Should I bring Charlie?"

"Do you really want to drag a 20 month old to Boston and to Sushi Sushi where I can guarantee that there will be absolutely nothing on the menu that she'll eat?

"You're right," Rory said. "This is weird, right?"

"Yeah, this is weird," Lorelai agreed. "Oh no!" she said as she jumped up and headed to the kitchen. "Sookie?" she asked as she pushed the door open. Sookie took one look at her and promptly flipped the golf ball cake she had been making into the garbage.

"God!" she exclaimed as the cake landed in the trash as she stalked off to work on something else. Lorelai cringed as she backed out of the kitchen.

* * *

When Lorelai and Rory finally got home that evening, they were greeted by a large box by the front door.

"Did you order from Amazon again?" Lorelai lamented as she stared at the box. "'Cause we're going to get your books their own house," she said, looking at Rory who was carrying several boxes of Beanie Babies for the retirement party.

"I didn't, I swear," Rory said as she stared at the box as well.

"It's from my mother," Lorelai commented when she noticed the hand writing on the envelope that was taped to the box.

"What is it?"  
"It's heavy," Lorelai said as she picked it up. "Must be her hopes and dreams for me."

"I thought she discarded those years ago," Rory quipped as they entered the house.

"Honey! We're home!" she called out.

"Momma!" Charlie called as she came barrelling out of the kitchen towards Lorelai and Rory put the box of Beanie Babies on the table by the door. Heather wandered into the living room a few moments later.

"Did you two go out today?" she asked as she passed the box of books to Rory before picking Charlie up.

"No, why?" Heather asked as she grabbed her coat.

"Hmmm. . . My mother strikes again," Lorelai muttered. "Same time tomorrow?"

"I'll be here. See ya Chuck," she said to Charlie with a smile. The little girl giggled as the nanny slipped out the door.

"So, let's get that box open," Lorelai said as she led the girls to the couch. Lorelai and Rory quickly sat down, Charlie still on Lorelai's lap while Rory kept the box. She handed the envelope to her mother as she opened the box.

"_Girls, here are some travel books I stumbled across in your father's study. I thought they could help in the planning of your European adventure_," Lorelai read. She looked over at the books Rory was pulling out of the box. "She's insane," Lorelai remarked when she saw the titles.

"We have travel books," Rory said as she flipped through one of the larger books.

"These are Paris and Nicky Hilton's kind of travel books."

"This hotel is five hundred dollars a night," Rory exclaimed as she read one of the descriptions.

"Yeah, twenty years ago," Lorelai threw in as she helped Charlie flip through a different travel book.

"What could a hotel possibly have that would make it five hundred dollars a night?"

"An English menu?" Lorelai asked.

* * *

_A 15 year old Lorelai giggled as Christopher Haden tried to keep her wrapped in his arms while she tried to open the door to her house. The pair practically fell into the house when they finally got the door open._

"Is she home?" he asked as they looked around.

_  
"I don't know," Lorelai answered. "Mom, are you home?" she called out._

"Mom, are you home?" Christopher imitated.

"She'll hear you!" Lorelai hissed to him.

"So? She likes me," he said with a cocky smile. She shook her head as she gave an elaborate speech about being home and dropping her sweater on the floor and registering democrat before they decided Emily wasn't home. And, with the maid already fired, they were on their own.

As Christopher went to pour them some drinks, Lorelai quickly flopped down on the sofa and pulled a thick travel book on to her lap and quickly began flipping through it.

"Looks like the Gilmore's are planning a trip again. I hope they go over Christmas," she said as she thought about it for a moment. "That would be as holly jolly as it gets." She quickly accepted the glass of scotch from Christopher and took a sip. "Smooth," she remarked, rather sarcastically before Christopher began to spill out his plans to skip college and travel through Europe. He invited her along on his back packing adventure and she all but laughed in his face when he suggested she sleep on a bench with him.

"Come on, Lor. Let's get out of here, let's get away from this place. Let's take Myra," he said, pointing towards the book in her hand. "And just bolt. Leave a note on the dining room table. 'Dear Richard and Emily, I don't belong here, I'm going somewhere else, I'll call you when I get there. Love, Lorelai.' How does that sound?"

"Well," she said as she considered this for a moment. "The word 'whoopee' comes to mind."

"So, then, it's a plan," he said as he put his drink down on the coffee table beside hers.

"It's a plan," she said with a smile before he leaned in and the pair started to make out.

* * *

"Mom?" Rory called into her cell phone as she headed towards the train station in Hartford.

"What's up Rory?" she asked as she buzzed around her office at the Inn.

"Maureen called me today."

"Maureen who?" Lorelai asked.

"Sherry's friend Maureen," she said. "Sherry's in labour and I guess we're all meeting at the hospital so I'm gonna catch a train up to Boston."

"Really?" Lorelai asked, not really believing this.

"Yeah, in fact, it's boarding right now, so, I guess I'll call you later," she said as she handed the conductor her ticket.

"Ok, call me if you need anything," Lorelai said, still not really believing that this was happening.

"I will, bye," she said as she hung up and found a quiet seat by a window. She sat for a moment before she pulled a book out of her bag and started to

* * *

_Lorelai frowned as she looked at the white debutante ball gown that was hanging on the back of her bedroom door. Her long, dark hair was already swept up in an elaborate twist on the top of her head, her make up was done and her mother, a photographer and a lighting technician were all waiting down stairs for her. In fact, the maid had already been sent up once to try and hurry her along._

She heaved a sigh as she finally slipped the ridiculously fluffy dress off of the hanger and she took a moment to snicker at the fact that it was white to represent the supposed 'purity' and 'virginity' of the debutante. Truth be told, Lorelai hadn't heard of a debutante who was actually a virgin in a very long time.

Lorelai carefully stepped into the dress, careful not to catch her high heeled shoes on any of the tulle as she pulled it up. She brushed a few invisible wrinkles out of the skirt before she played with the puffed sleeves. Satisfied that things were as good as they were going to get, she examined the results one last time in the full length mirror before she reached around behind herself to do up the zipper.

She sighed in frustration as she couldn't get the zipper to go up. She tried holding her breath and trying to adjust how the bodice of the dress sat on her body.

"Lorelai, the photographer needs you downstairs," Emily called to her through the bedroom door.

"I'll be there in a sec," she said quickly as she went back to fighting with the zipper of the dress, trying to twist herself around so that she could try and see what was going on in the mirror.

"He needs you now, not in a sec," Emily said, becoming impatient.

"Okay," Lorelai called back, still battling the zipper.

"I don't hear you walking toward the door."

"Mom, please."

"I'm coming in," Emily announced as she opened the door and marched into Lorelai's bedroom.

"No," Lorelai said quickly as she turned around in time to see her mother march in. She frowned as she put her hands on her hips and glared at her mother.

"I don't have time for your attitude young lady. This man is being paid by the hour," she lectured. "Why aren't you dressed?" she asked when she realised that Lorelai's dress was still open in the back.

"I just. . ." she said as she tried to make up an excuse. "I think the zipper's too new or stiff or something," she finally said.

"Turn around, I'll do it," Emily said. Lorelai complied, dropped her hands as her mother began trying to force the zipper up. "The dressmaker must've written the measurements down wrong," Emily finally decided as she mentally made lists of the events she was going to have to reschedule now. "Well, what are we supposed to do now? I certainly can't take a picture of you like that," she said as she moved away from Lorelai.

"Sorry," Lorelai muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to look at Emily.

"I'll just have him come back next week," she said. "And I'm going to call that woman at the dress shop and give her a piece of my mind," Emily ranted. Lorelai tuned her out as her mind started to wander and a scary thought flittered through her mind for a moment. As her mother finally left the room, the thought had taken root in her head and she felt her stomach drop to her knees. She had been ignoring it for a couple of months already, blaming the fact that she had missed her period on stress and school and the flu that she'd had a couple of weeks ago but now?

"Please, please, please let the dressmaker have made a mistake," she muttered as she began trying to zip up the dress again.

* * *

"Where's Luke?" Lorelai asked as she realised that Luke was not behind the counter, listening to her begging for coffee before she and Charlie headed up to Hartford for dinner with Emily.

"I don't know," Kirk answered as she turned slightly on his stool to look at them.

"Well, is he here? Is he coming back? How fresh is that pot?"

"I don't know, I don't know, it was sitting there when I got here but that's only been a minute, so I don't know," Kirk said, feeling slightly flustered. Just as she was about to go and help herself, Luke came down the stairs, playing with his collar. He looked up when he saw her and just knew what she was here for.

"Oh thank God. Hey, I desperately need a massive cup of coffee to go and. . . What happened to your face?" she asked as she sat down on a stool, Charlie in her lap, and actually took a look at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he filled a to-go cup for her.

"It's . . . visible," she said, making a bit of a face because of the shock of the revelation.

"Oh," he said casually as he handed her the cup. "I shaved."

"You going to the bank?" she asked, still eying his naked face.

"No."

"Funeral?" she tried again.

"No," he said, starting to become irritated with her.

"Drag club?" she asked as a last ditch effort.

"Look, you've got your coffee, shouldn't you be on your way?" he asked her gruffly, leaning on the counter to glare at her slightly.

"Hey, isn't that the sweater that. . ." Luke cut her off.

"Yes it is."

"You look nice," she said with a smile, starting to flirt with him a little.

"Thank you."

"What's the occasion?" she asked. As he hesitated, trying to avoid having to tell her that he was going on a date, Nicole slipped into the diner.

"Hi," she said with a smile when she saw him.

"Hi," he replied, a bit of a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's a girl," she said, growing quiet as she took in Nicole.

"Nicole," Luke said quickly as he came out from behind the counter. "This is Lorelai and one of her daughters, Charlie." The two women took each other in for a moment before they introduced themselves. Just as the pair were about to leave, Nicole's cell phone went off. As Luke calmly took a seat beside Lorelai, she began pointing a finger at Nicole's blatant disregard for the no cell phones policy and Luke quickly began grabbing her hands to hold them down. The pair were engaged in a furious battle that ended abruptly when Nicole got off the phone.

"Nice meeting you two," Nicole said with a smile.

"You, too," Lorelai said, a forced smile on her face as she watched the pair leave the diner.

* * *

_Lorelai walked casually to the bathroom, just before the next period of classes began, her hands balled into fists and tucked tightly into the pockets of her school sweater. She knew that if she didn't keep her hands in fists, they'd start to shake._

She had never been this nervous in her entire life.

She walked calmly to the last stall in the room an quickly locked the door. She listened for a moment to make sure that no one came in before she rummaged through her bag and pulled out the plain, brown paper bag that was tucked into the bottom.

"Ok, relax," she muttered to herself. "You take tests all the time. The only difference is that you really, really, REALLY want to fail this one," she told herself as she opened the bag, pulled out the little box inside and quickly opened it, reading the instructions. "Simple enough. Pee on stick, hope it turns blue," she said as she did just that. She stayed in the stall as watched the seconds tick by on the ugly watch her parents had bought her for Christmas in their attempts to try and teach her punctuality.

She held her breath as she heard the door open, but relaxed when she recognised the voices of the girls who had come in. All they ever did was smoke in the bathroom, so she knew they wouldn't care if she was in there.

"Oh shit," she muttered to herself when she looked at the stick in her hand and saw the bright pink tip. She stared at it for another long moment, willing it to change before she quickly slipped it into a tampon wrapper she had found in her bag and dropped it into the small garbage box that was in the stall. She sat for a moment longer, trying to wrap her mind around things, but she instead found herself revisiting lunch.

Lorelai sat on the floor when she was done, trying to catch her breath and stop herself from shaking. As soon as she had accomplished this, she gathered her things, washed her hands and headed to get her stuff out of her locker before signing out at the office and going home.

* * *

Rory stood in the middle of the maternity ward hallway as she watched Maureen dash off. She was the only one who had come, everyone else was still working because GG, Sherry's baby, had decided to disrupt her mother's schedule and come a week early. Rory eventually took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and peaked into Sherry's room.

"Sherry? It's Rory," she said as she slipped into the hospital room.

"Rory? Oh my God, I'm so glad you're here."

"How are you?" she asked as she came over the bed.

"This wasn't supposed to happen now," she said quickly as she began to rattle off all the things that were going wrong. "She's not here!" she cried, lamenting the fact that Maureen had gone back to work. "None of my friends are here, Christopher isn't here, no one is here. No one but you. Thank God you're here, Rory. I don't think that I could do this by myself because this wasn't supposed to happen until next week. I wrote it down. I wrote it down, I WROTE IT DOWN!" she cried as she grabbed Rory's arm tightly. Rory panicked for a moment before she said the only thing that she could think of.

"Boy, do you look thin," she finally got out, a smile plastered on her face.

* * *

_"We're probably just over reacting," Richard said after a while. He and Emily had been arguing about what kind of Dr. Lorelai actually had an appointment with._

"And how could we possibly be over reacting Richard? Her denial, or lack there of, about the message being from an obstetrician is confirmation enough," Emily fired back as she paced around the living room.

"Lorelai never tells us anything willingly," he said as he poured them each a drink. "This is probably just another one of those times and we have simply gotten ourselves worked up over nothing. She's probably up there right now, on the phone with one of her friends, telling her all about this." Emily accepted the drink from Richard as she pondered this thought for a moment. He was probably right. Lorelai was far to smart to do something so stupid.

* * *

_A few days later, Lorelai and her parents sat at the dinner table._

"Lorelai, eat your food," Emily said as she watched Lorelai push the food around her plate.

"I'm not hungry," she said glumly.

"Honestly," Emily huffed as she put her fork down more violently than she meant too. "You said you liked this last week."

"I changed my mind," she fired back, slamming her own fork down onto the table.

"Lorelai!" her father said sharply. "You will not raise your voice to your mother, especially at the dinner table." He and Lorelai glared at each other for a moment before she muttered something and picked her fork back up. She moved the food around a little more, staying silent.

"That's it," Emily said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "You are going to explain what is going on with this attitude, young lady."

"What attitude?" Lorelai asked, putting her fork down again.

"This one," Emily said with a gesture. "This sullen, touchy attitude that is such a sudden reversal from your sarcastic, cynical attitude that you usually have." Lorelai sat quietly, looking at her plate. "Well?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said as she tossed her napkin on the table before she pushed away and headed for the stairs. Emily and Richard were quickly up as well, hot on her heels.

"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore you will return to that table immediately!" Richard called to her as he and Emily stood at the bottom of the stairs. Lorelai stopped when she heard her full name and she felt everything boiling up inside of her.

"You really want to know what's wrong?" she asked as she finally turned around to face them. Her parents didn't say anything as they stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at her. "I'm pregnant, that's what's wrong," she blurted out. "I'm pregnant with Christopher's baby." She stood on the first landing, chest heaving, as she watched her parents take this in.

They looked very, very small all of a sudden as they stood there, faces pale, as they tried to take in what she had just told them.

"Lorelai, this is not funny at all," her father said, recovering first.

"You're telling me," she said. "Belly baring tops are so in this summer," she threw in as she turned on her heel and marched up the stairs. She slammed the door and chaired it so no one could get in before she grabbed the comforter off of her bed, climbed out onto the balcony and made herself a little nest in the large blanket.

* * *

Lorelai smirked as she followed her mother to the dining room. She loved seeing her mother squirm. She also liked watching her battle Charlie over sitting in her high chair.

"Hey, chill out," Lorelai told Charlie. The toddler finally stopped squirming and simply pouted until the maid arrived with salads for the adults and vegetable slices for Charlie. "So, come on mom, what do you do when dad's away?" Lorelai asked again, taking a little but more pleasure than she should at her mother's fidgeting.

* * *

_Lorelai and Christopher sat, huddled together on the first landing of the staircase while their parents yelled at each other in the living room. Lorelai sat quietly, leaning against the wall while Christopher sat, Indian style, playing with his shoelaces._

"This is unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable!" Straub Haden yelled as he paced a little.

"I feel sick," Francine, his wife, said tearfully as she dabbed at her eyes with an already wet handkerchief. Lorelai sighed as she heard her mother trying to calm Francine down. She glanced over at Christopher, not surprised that he wasn't paying attention to the options that were being discussed without them. She quickly looked away from him, tuning back into the yelling match that was going on in the other room.

"They will get married, they will live here, and Christopher will go to work at my company," Richard said suddenly. The group immediately fell silent as he stood up, pulling himself up to his full height of 6'5" before straightening his jacket. "That is the solution. Now, we have a plan so we can all stop talking about it. Please excuse me, I have work to do," he said as he quickly left the room and headed towards his study.

Lorelai felt her stomach drop to her knees when she heard her father's pronouncement. She was 16 and completely unsure if Christopher was who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. As the argument shifted to why would Christopher go to work with Richard instead of with Straub, Lorelai decided she'd had enough.

"I know we're all upset here folks, but maybe we should ask the kids what they think. Lorelai, Christopher, anything to add here?" she said quickly.

"Quiet, they'll hear you," Christopher muttered as he finally looked up from his shoe laces.

"Not likely," she muttered. "I don't know how much longer I can just sit here like this."

"It's okay," he said quickly. "Let them talk."  
"They're talking about us," she pointed out as she turned to look at him.

"They're trying to figure out what to do," he corrected her.

"Yeah, what to do with our lives, our lives! Yours and mine and . . .its," she said as a hand automatically flew to her abdomen. A moment of silence settled over the pair for a moment

"We're gonna need their help," he said, trying to justify the conversation in the other room.

"We can take care of ourselves," Lorelai replied confidently.

"How?" he asked, looking at her for a moment.

"We'll figure it out," she said, trying to sound confident even though she was scared beyond belief.

"It's okay, it sounds okay," he said with a shrug. "Working for your dad, living here . . . It sounds okay.

"Chris, no!" she cried. "What about Europe? What about sleeping on a bench in Paris?" she asked him, horrified that he was going to give that all up.

"We can't do that now," he said sadly. "I have to get a job, I have to make money," he said, his voice sounding a little duller with every thought. The ramifications of that night on the balcony were finally beginning to hit him with full force.

"No!" she cried. "Chris. . . "

"It's okay, really," he said, trying to assure her that he didn't mind doing what was expected of him. She sighed and looked away from him as the arguing in the other room heated up again.

* * *

Rory swallowed hard as the nurse left the room. The more she thought about having to go into the delivery room with Sherry, the more the cell phone in her hand started to shake.

"Um, listen, Sherry, I really need a cup of coffee. Would you mind if I ran out really quick?" she asked as she pulled the head set out of her ear as she closed the cell phone and stood up.

"Oh, no, go ahead," she said brightly. "I'll make the next few calls myself," she finished as she grabbed the phone from where Rory had dropped it.

"Okay," Rory said as she slipped out the door. She looked up and down the hallway for a moment before she reached into her pocket and pulled out her own cell phone and dialled her mother's number. She bit her lip as she prayed that Lorelai hadn't turned her phone off while at dinner with Emily.

"Hello?" Lorelai answered after a couple of rings.

"Mom, they're giving me gloves!" Rory cried.  
"What are you talking about?" she asked, furrowing her brow as she tried to puzzle out what was going on.

"I don't want gloves, I don't want a gown, I don't want to be in there."

"In where?" she asked, removing the napkin from her lap before reaching out to pull the spoon Charlie was banging on her tray away from her.

"In the delivery room with Sherry," Rory spilled out.

"What?" Lorelai asked, not believing that she was hearing this.

"Dad's not here yet and she's freaking out and she told the nurse I'm going in and. . . "

"Where are her other friends?" Lorelai demanded as she stood up from the table and handed Charlie half of a buttered roll before she pulled the tray away from her.

"They had to work. I'm here all by myself and I'm trying very hard to be calm but I'm starting to feel nauseous, and the hospital has a smell. . . And there are noises and those gowns do not stay closed and I've seen a lot of butts today! And. . ." Lorelai quickly cut her off as she managed to clean Charlie's hands and face and take her bib off.

"Okay, sweetie, calm down," Lorelai told her as she picked Charlie up. Emily, who had been watching the whole performance finally stood up at this point too, motioning for the maid.

"I need you! I need you and I need you here and I need you now!" Rory cried. "I cannot do this alone. I need my mommy, and damn it, I don't care who knows it!"

"What hospital is it?" she asked as she handed Charlie to Emily as she grabbed their coats from the maid.

"Boston Memorial," Rory said quietly.

"I'll be right there," she assured Rory as handed Charlie's coat to Emily.

"I really, really like you," she said eagerly as she played with the buttons on her sweater.

"Tell Sherry to keep her legs crossed 'til I get there," Lorelai said as she tossed her own coat on.

"Does that work?" Rory asked.

"No, bye," she said as she hung up and quickly began to put Charlie's coat on. "Mom, we gotta go, I'm sorry. Dinner was great."

"Where are you going?" she asked, still holding Charlie as Lorelai put Charlie's hat on and battled her to get her mittens on, since she had lost interest in the roll and had given it to the maid.  
"Sherry's freaking out and Rory's the only one with her, so I'm going to the hospital."

"You're going to be with Rory's father's girlfriend while she has his baby?" Emily asked.

"Gee mom, I can't at all tell what your opinion on that might be. Can I have my kid back?"

"Why would you do this?" Emily asked, ignoring Lorelai's request. "That woman pulled Christopher away from you, away from Rory and Charlie. She destroyed any chance you might have had. . ."

"Rory asked me to come," Lorelai said quickly, cutting Emily off. "That's why I'm going. Thank you for a lovely dinner, we'll see you next week," she said as she finally pulled Charlie away from Emily and the pair slipped out the door.

* * *

_Lorelai trudged back up the stairs to her bedroom slowly, a plate in her hand. She hadn't really been surprised to get downstairs to see that her parents had gone out without telling her. Again. The bigger her stomach had gotten, the less they had talked to her. When she had wandered into the kitchen, the maid had smiled politely before she had quickly left the kitchen. Well, at least this one wouldn't get fired for asking about her pregnancy._

Lorelai slipped into her room and settled herself on her bed with a sigh. She turned the TV on and as it warmed up, she adjusted her sweater and grabbed half of her sandwich before she began flipping through the channels. She eventually settled on watching Quincy solve another crime.

Halfway through the episode, and her sandwich, she felt a twinge. She didn't think much of it as she brushed some crumbs off of her belly but when it happened again, and it was stronger, she took notice.

"Ow," she said as she held her belly for a moment as her mind raced a mile a minute as to what she should do.

* * *

_  
Lorelai sighed as she finished filling out the paper work the nurse at the hospital had handed her. Just as she slipped the pen back where she had found it, a nurse came and accepted it from her._

"Okay," she said as she looked over the paper work. "Is anyone with you, hon?"

"No," she said quietly, starting to get a little nervous about this.

"Well, someone will be up to get you in just a second," she told her.

"Thanks," Lorelai said. She sat for a moment and watched the nurse walk away before she reached beside her and pulled out her walk man. She slipped the head phones on, pressed play and she let herself get lost in 99 Luft Balloons as she enjoyed the last of her childhood.

* * *

"If you ever, for what ever reason, ask me to do something like this, I'm not sure I'll agree," Lorelai warned Charlie as she lugged the toddler and her bag into the hospital.

"Wowy?" she asked.

"Yes, we're gonna go find Rory," she said as she looked up the maternity floor on a directory before heading for the elevator. Charlie smile, glad to be going to see her sister.

"Down?" she asked, wiggling in Lorelai's arms.

"Push the button," she said, pointing to the right number. Charlie stuck her tongue out a little as she leaned towards the panel of buttons and managed to hit the right one on the first try. "Good job kid," she said.

"Down?" Charlie asked again. Lorelai complied with a sigh, and as the doors slid shut, Charlie began wandering around the small elevator.

"Come on," she said as she bent down to take Charlie's hand. She quickly headed to the desk, Charlie wandering behind her, and asked where Sherry's room was. As she was gearing up to go in, Rory appeared around the corner.

"Mom!" she called out happily.

"Hey," Lorelai said with a smile as she led Charlie over to meet up with Rory. The pair talked for a moment before Rory started to babble on about the papers she had to fax for Sherry.

"Uh huh, let's go," she said as she pulled Rory towards Sherry's room with her free hand.

"But we have a deadline," she insisted as Lorelai pushed her towards Sherry's room.

"Mmhmm," she said as she opened the door and waited for Rory to walk in. Lorelai's eyes got slightly wider as she saw Sherry talking on the phone while crouching on the bed. "Sherry, hang up," she said quietly as she let go of Charlie's hand.

"No, I have to finish this call," she said quickly.

"Just say goodbye," Lorelai told her as she checked on Charlie, who was busy bending Rory to her will.

"But. . ."

"You'll call'em back," she assured her.

"I. . ." Sherry said as Lorelai quickly plucked the phone from her.

"Hi. Uh, Sherry's gonna have to call you back. Yeah, I promise. Okay, goodbye," she said as she ended the conversation quickly and shut the cell phone, putting it on the table, out of Sherry's grasp. As Sherry tried to explain that the call was for work, Lorelai cut her off again. "You really shouldn't be working right now," Lorelai said.

"I can't just stop everything because I'm . . ." Sherry hesitated, stumbling over the words.

"Having a baby," Lorelai prompted. "Admitting it is the first step, honey," she finished as she cleared a few more things off of the bed. As Sherry rattled on about everything that was going wrong, Lorelai continued to wonder why Sherry was sitting the way she was.

"Maureen told me that Howard Stern said that if you squat, it makes the baby come out faster," she said, completely serious when Lorelai finally asked. Rory snickered a little as Lorelai managed to hold it together.

"Well, as long as you have a sane reason from a reliable source."

"I'm scared," Sherry finally admitted.

"I know. It's scary and it hurts like hell," she answered truthfully. "And remember, when it comes out not to look at it too hard until they give it a good cleaning or you'll think you gave birth to phlegm. But, um, once they give it a good scrub, it's just unbelievably cool and, look how good they grow up. Not bad, huh?" she asked as the two of them looked over at Rory and Charlie.

"Thank you," Sherry said, calming slightly. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"My ankles are starting to hurt." Rory quickly sat Charlie on the end of the bed before she grabbed an arm and helped her sit back.

"I'm glad you're here," Sherry said, turning to Lorelai as Rory picked Charlie back up again.

"Well, at this moment, you probably should be," she said with a small smile.

* * *

"Ugh, why didn't I leave you with your grandmother?" Lorelai asked as she shifted Charlie from one hip to the other.

"Because you love her too much to abandon her like that," Rory said.

"I'm abandoning her for 2 months with my mother and father," Lorelai pointed out. Rory smiled and shrugged as she offered Lorelai one of the cups of coffee she had just bought. "So, no word from your dad?"

"Nope," Rory answered simply, giving her head a shake. Lorelai bit back a smile of satisfaction. Chris had missed the birth of both of her kids, it made her kind of happy to think that he was going to miss the birth of Sherry's kid too. All too soon, however this thought was replaced by the one telling her that if Chris didn't show, she was going to have to go in.

"You do know that if he doesn't get here, I have to go in with her," Lorelai pointed out, feeling a strong need to share this thought with Rory.

"Yes, I do," Rory said with a smile.

"Well, I don't want to go in with her," Lorelai said as she handed Rory the cup back.

"At least you know what's gonna happen," Rory said with a shrug as they headed back to Sherry's room.

"I had the cheap seat before. My view was quite a bit different." Rory considered this for a moment before she asked if they should buy a camera, to take pictures.

"I just thought it would be nice," Rory said with a shrug when Lorelai vetoed the idea quickly.

"Lor, Rory!" Chris called as he ran up to them. "Hey Charlie," he said as he dropped a kiss on each of his girls.

"Oh, thank God you're here, Chris," Lorelai replied.

"Has it happened? Did I miss it?" he asked in a rush, Lorelai couldn't help but be surprised when she saw the look of fear in his face when she had expected relief at the possibility of having missed everything.

"No," Rory said. Chris quickly began babbling about speeding and not remembering where he had parked his car as Lorelai and Rory led him to Sherry's room.

"Have fun!" Lorelai called as Sherry and Chris headed for the delivery room.

"Have fun?" Rory asked when they disappeared through the doors. She turned to look at her mother, a confused look on her face.

"Well. . . " Lorelai said with a shrug as she led them back to Sherry's room to gather their things before they headed to the waiting room to wait.

* * *

_Lorelai tried to keep her legs from shaking as they moved her from the gurney to the scary looking delivery table. She had been keeping her cool for the last she didn't know how many hours, but now that the big moment was here, she wanted nothing more than to pack up and go home. The fact that her mother and father were now sitting outside wasn't doing a whole lot to make her feel better about this whole situation._

"It won't be long now," her nurse assured her.

"Great," Lorelai shot back with a forced smile as she tried to make herself comfortable. "You better be worth it," she muttered to her stomach before she heard the words 'stirrups' being uttered in her direction.

* * *

Lorelai sighed as she flipped the page in the magazine she was reading while she rubbed her free hand up and down Charlie's back. She glanced over at Rory who was curled up on the chairs beside her, her head resting on her balled up coat while Lorelai's was thrown over her as a make shift blanket. She quickly adjusted the blanket that was over Charlie's shoulders, hoping that she'd stay asleep. Charlie wasn't big on falling asleep in people's arms any more. She loved the before bed cuddle, but when it came time to actually fall asleep, she wanted to be deposited in her crib and left alone.

"Lor?" She turned her head when she heard her name whispered softly to her. She turned to see Chris standing slightly behind her, dressed in a very ugly yellow paper gown.

"Are you a daddy?' she asked after she had taken him in. He nodded, a large smile on his face.

"Come on, come look," he said excitedly. "We'll wake Rory later," he said as he finally got her to her feet.

"So, how was it?" she asked as they wandered towards the nursery.

"Oh man, Lor, in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined. I've never been that nervous or terrified or nauseous in my entire life. It was like the most amazing thing ever in the world. It was like. . . Well, you know, twice over."

"Yes, I do know," she said with a smile as she held Charlie a little closer.

"There," he said, pointing out one of the babies in the front row.

"Wow," she aid, trying to muster up some enthusiasm. She hoped that in his excitement, Christopher wouldn't notice.

"She's perfect," he gushed.

"Rory and Charlie were perfect," she said quickly. "She, however, is a good solid third." The pair looked at each other for a moment. "She's beautiful, really," Lorelai assured him. "Congratulations, Christopher," she said sincerely.

"Thank you, for everything," he told her.

"Of course," she said with a smile as the three of them continued to stare at the babies.

* * *

_Lorelai stood, leaning against the frame of the window that allowed the visitors to see into the nursery. She sighed contently as she took in her new daughter, Lorelai._

"She's pretty," Chris said quietly. He had arrived at the hospital at a very respectable 10 am. His parents hadn't bothered to come.

"She's perfect," Lorelai corrected him. She didn't really understand why he didn't think the same.

"So, I guess we should get married," Chris said, still looking at his new daughter. Lorelai chewed on her bottom lip as she continued to lean against the window frame, hands steepled in front of her as she considered this statement.

"No, Chris. We shouldn't," she finally said as she turned to look at him.

"But. . ."

"Do you want to get married?"

"Yes," he said.

"Chris . . . If that baby hadn't happened, would you be proposing?"

"Of course not," he said, not understanding what this was all about.

"We are too young," she told him firmly. "You need to go to college and see Europe and get a job."

"I can do that after we get married," he pleaded.

"No, you can't," she said again. "I know it and you know it too," she said. The pair looked at each other for another moment.

"I should go. . . My parents don't know I took the car."

"See ya later," she said. He waived once before he turned and left. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets as he walked way from her without looking back.

* * *

"I should wake Rory, don't you think?" Chris asked, snapping Lorelai out of her day dream.

"Yeah, she'd like to see this," Lorelai threw in. Chris, still all smiles, quickly kissed Lorelai's temple before he dropped another kiss on Charlie. He flashed one more large smile at her before he turned and headed back to the waiting room. Lorelai sighed after he left and hugged Charlie a little closer, more than a little disappointed that he had never been this happy about their kids.

* * *

_"Lorelai, come down here and put this stroller away!" Emily yelled up the stairs as she tripped over it, again, on her way into the house._

"In a sec!" Lorelai yelled back as she finished tucking Rory into her crib for her afternoon nap. The one year old looked up at her and smile before a yawn nearly split her face. "Go to sleep silly girl," Lorelai whispered as she ran a finger down Rory's forehead. She quickly moved away from the crib and went back to sorting through Rory's things, deciding what clothes she'd take with her and which ones she'd leave behind.

She'd already packed two weeks worth of her own clothes along with her jewellery, make up and some other cosmetics. The hard part was packing for Rory. She wanted to bring everything, even the things the almost didn't fit anymore. With a sigh, she forced herself to leave everything that didn't fit except for the outfit she had worn home from the hospital and quickly packed everything she could into a large backpack she had gotten. She quickly crammed everything she could into Rory's baby bag and then she sat back and looked around her room.

Her mother was home and Lorelai knew she was going to disappear into the den for a few hours. There had been a ballroom dancing competition the other night and she knew her mother had taped it. She also knew that her father was happily locked away in his study.

As soon as Rory woke up, they were gone.

* * *

_"Lorelai, we are leaving! Please acknowledge that!" Emily quickly yelled as she and Richard tried to get ready to leave for the function they were attending tonight. "Where is that girl?"_

"This is not the scarf I asked for," Richard complained.

"Well, it looks fine. Can you just wear it?" Emily asked him. As Richard began to ramble on about why he wouldn't wear the scarf, Emily happened to peak into the dining room and noticed an envelope on the table. She quickly marched over and opened it, pulling the note out. Her heart dropped to her feet as she read the contents.

'Dear Emily and Richard,  
We don't belong here, I don't know if we ever did. We'll call when ever we get to where we're going.  
Love, Lorelai and Rory'

"Emily?" Richard asked once he realised that Emily wasn't paying attention to him anymore. As he wandered over to her, still confused as to what was going on, Emily was re-reading the letter again, trying not to cry over the fact that her baby had packed up her baby and run away into the night.

* * *

"You're here early," Luke remarked as he saw Lorelai and Charlie slip into the diner.

"Just here to grab some coffee and some danishes," she said as she took a seat at the corner. Luke considered complaining when she sat Charlie on the counter, but after looking at her face, he decided against it.

"For Rory too?" he asked casually as he turned to the coffee maker, to make sure that it was almost done.

"Yeah," she said with a yawn.

"What's up?" he asked when he got a good look at the two of them. While Charlie seemed to be her normal self, Lorelai's face looked drawn and tired.

"Christopher's girlfriend, fiancé, had their baby last night," she said quietly, studying the counter top. "One of Sherry's friends called Rory and when she got there, she was told that no one else was coming because they had to work, so just as dinner at the Gilmore's was drawing to a close, I get a frantic call from Rory that Sherry is going to expect Rory to be in the delivery room with her," he frowned a little as he heard her let a sarcastic snort go. "She almost started to cry when she thought they were going to make her go in with me. . ." she mused. "So, I went. I went because she asked me to, even though I really, really didn't want to."

"You, uh, didn't. . ."

"Chris showed up, just as they were getting ready to take her down," she said as she set Charlie on the floor to wander. Lorelai wrapped her hands around the cup of coffee Luke had just put in front of her. "And then we sat and waited and Rory and Charlie fell asleep and finally he came out an announced he had a new daughter." Luke watched her for a long moment, watching as she collected herself, or at least tried to. "And he was so happy and so excited and all I did was smile and congratulate him when all I really wanted to do was smack him and demand to know why he was never like this when I had Rory or Charlie."

"Lorelai," Luke started again, leaning on the counter. She shook her head and he heard her sniffle as she stared at the counter top. He quickly grabbed a book of Charlie's, not completely sure how it had ended up behind the counter, and brought it over to her, giving Lorelai a chance to collect herself. Charlie looked up at him and took the book before plunking herself down on the floor to start reading. Luke wandered back over to Lorelai and stood behind her for a moment before he put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and he quickly pulled her off of the stool and wrapped his arms around her. "He's an idiot," Luke muttered, not even trying to keep the harsh tone out of his voice. "He's an idiot for ever giving the three of you up." She pulled away from him and the pair studied each other for a moment. "Oh well," Luke said with a shrug as he dropped his hands and stepped away. "My gain, I suppose," he said as he headed back around the counter, quickly putting some danishes into a bag before he handed Lorelai a take out tray with the coffee cups in it.

"Yeah," she said as she took it from him. "His loss," she added as she studied Luke for a moment. He had already turned back to the coffee makers as she tried to puzzle out what he had meant by 'his gain'. "Come on Charlie," she called. The little girl looked at her for a moment before she stood up and hurried after Lorelai, her book still held tightly in one hand.

* * *

_Lorelai stood out side of the Independence Inn, Rory sitting in the stroller beside her. Glad that things looked quiet, Lorelai quickly lugged the stroller up onto the porch before she lifted Rory up onto her hip._

_"Ready babe?" she whispered to the toddler. Rory looked at her for a moment before she went back to taking in her new surroundings, part of the cookie Fran had given her still clutched in her hand. Lorelai squared her shoulders, marched into the Inn and straight to the counter. "Hi, is the manager in?" she asked the clerk at the desk._

_"Just a minute," she said as she disappeared into the back._

_"Can I help you?" Mia asked as she came up to Lorelai. Lorelai and Rory took the woman in for a moment._

_"I'm here for a job, any job," Lorelai said confidently._

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for the great response last chapter. Yes, it was one of my favourite chapters to write:)

* * *

Lorelai walked into the kitchen, intent on getting herself a cup of coffee when she saw Sookie and all the other chefs huddled around a table that held several plates of untouched food.

"Hey, is everything okay?" she asked as she took in the group.

"No, we have got to get a better screening system for customers here," Sookie lamented as she stared at the food.

"Yes, we do," Lorelai snickered. "Since we currently have no screening system for customers here."

"They sent it back. My food," Sookie said, pointing to herself. "My four star, 'you haven't lived 'til you've eaten there, says Ruth Reichl', food!" Sookie lamented.

"What did they say was wrong?" Lorelai asked, determined to get to the bottom of this before Sookie's head exploded.

"You name it. Too salty, too hot, too sewer-y," Sookie replied, pointing to a different dish each time she listed the complaint.

"Honey, calm down," Lorelai said as she grabbed Sookie by the shoulders. "Some people are just stupid," she said.

"Yes, they are stupid, and stupid people have stupid friends and they all have to come here and be stupid together," she lamented.

"Okay, no, don't be mad at me, but I have to ask this. . . Are you sure there's nothing wrong with the food?" Lorelai asked, looking Sookie in the eye.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with the food. You don't think that I would know if something was wrong with my food? You don't think that I tasted every last dish that was sent back. I tasted it, Manuel tasted it, Rico tasted it, Louella tasted it. We all tasted it and it tastes fine," Sookie, said, pointing to all the people that had tasted the food. Lorelai looked past Sookie to the other cooks and the fact that they were all looking anywhere but at her and Sookie.

"Okay," she said as she considered her options. "Do you mind?" she asked as she pointed at the food.

"You don't believe me?" Sookie asked, clearly hurt that Lorelai didn't just take her word for it.

"I believe you completely, but it's easier for me to take on those who doubt you if I've actually tasted it myself," she explained to Sookie.

"Fine, go ahead," Sookie said as she dug a clean fork out for Lorelai and handed it to her. Lorelai picked the colourful rice in the dish closest to her and was very happy that she had only taken a small bit.

"Ok, now I get the sewer-y reference," she said as she swallowed with some difficulty.

"What are you talking about?" Sookie demanded. Lorelai quickly pulled her to the side, telling the other cooks to send out free desserts to the disgruntled customers, even though Sookie immediately began protesting. Lorelai quickly assured Sookie that she loved her, but that was the worst food she had ever tasted.

"Are you sick? 'Cause sometimes the flu or even allergies can throw your taste buds off," Lorelai said quickly, grasping at straws.

"No, I'm not sick," Sookie assured her. "I mean, I had a little bug last week, but nothing today." Lorelai frowned a little when she heard this.

"Well, I think you should think about getting a check up. Maybe it was more than a little bug," she said.

"The food was really bad?" Sookie asked quietly.

"Oh honey, it was just. . . " Lorelai hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse. "Well, yeah, it was really that bad," she finished when she couldn't come up with anything.

"I don't understand," Sookie lamented as she turned her attention back to her plates of food again.

"I'm sure it was nothing," Lorelai said quickly, trying to console her slightly. "Just have Manuel help you with the tasting for the rest of the night, ok?" Sookie agreed with a bit of a sigh as Rory burst into the kitchen.

"Paris is going to drive me completely insane. Ooh, that looks good," she said as she grabbed the fork her mother had left beside the plate.

"No!" The entire kitchen staff called out.

"Jeez!" Rory cried as Lorelai pulled her into her arms.

"Be happy you're loved, hon. I got a Kit Kat in my purse," she said as she turned Rory and the pair headed out to the lobby. As Lorelai dug out the chocolate bar for Rory, she spilled out that Sookie was sick before moving on to what Paris had done this time. Rory quickly told her about the speech writing contest and the comments Paris had made.

"I want to enter, I want to win and I wanna dance around her saying 'I win, I win, I win!'"

"Wow, you are getting more and more like me everyday," Lorelai said, rather proudly, as she tucked her purse back under the desk. Rory considered her position for a moment before she continued on, saying how she didn't really want to do it because she didn't really have to. Lorelai quickly countered by asking if she was always going to do only what was asked of her. "Because a person who wants to be a foreign correspondent for a living should probably embrace the opportunity to practice her speechin' skills in front a crowd," Lorelai finished, leaning on the front desk a little.

"You had the motherly edge going there until you threw in the speechin' skills comment," Rory remarked.

"Yeah, well, you know what I mean," Lorelai said with a wave of her hand. Rory considered her options a little longer before she decided to ultimately do the contest.  
"And if I get to do the 'I win, I win, I win' dance, so much the better."

"For everyone involved," Lorelai remarked contentedly as she moved to the computer to check some reservation dates. Rory mmhmmed as she turned her attention to the chocolate bar in her hand but was quickly focusing on her mother again. "Oh my God, oh my God," she said as she jerked her head up and dashed out from behind the desk, meeting Sookie as she bolted out of the kitchen. Rory watched, confused as her mother and Sookie began jumping up and down and squealing. When she finally figured out what they were excited about, she dashed over to join in the screaming.

"I'm pregnant!"

"You're pregnant!" they all chorused as they hugged and jumped around, creating a scene in the lobby of the Inn.

* * *

"No way," Lorelai muttered as she walked into the house and saw the disaster area that greeted her. She dropped her purse to the ground as she stepped into the living room and took in the mess. Toys, pillows from the couch as well as the throw blankets were all over the place. Her books and CD's had all been pulled from the shelves and were strewn all over the floor. She slowly turned to her right and followed a trail of books that came to an abrupt stop at the open closet door and a pile of things that had been pulled out of place. She stared at that disaster for another moment before she continued on her way towards Rory's room, noticing that the trail of debris petered out as she reached the kitchen.

"I thought you were watching her," she said to Rory. "Rory!" she called when she got no response.

"Oh, you're home," she said with a smile as she took off her headphones and turned around to look at her mother.

"Yeah, I am. Where's your sister?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

"Playing in the kitchen," Rory answered calmly as she turned back to her text books.

"The whole time I was gone?" she asked as she walked over to Rory's chair and helped her up.

"Yeah, why?" Lorelai led her to the door and pointed to the hallway that led to the living room. "Whoa," Rory said as she saw the disaster area. "I only had my headphones on for a minute!" Rory said as she took in the disaster area. Lorelai glared at her oldest for a moment. "And it'll only take a me a minute to clean this up," she said quickly as she started to do just that.

Lorelai heaved a sigh as she watched Rory get started on the cleaning before she moved back into the kitchen, looking for Charlie. When she couldn't find her under the table, she headed upstairs, where she found Charlie reading to herself while sitting in a pile of laundry that had yet to be put away.

"Momma!" Charlie greeted her brightly as she tossed the book aside and rushed over to Lorelai.

"So, tell me again, exactly how long was that minute?" she asked Rory as she came downstairs with the toddler.

"Only a minute," Rory said. "I swear."

"I doubt she managed to do all of this and make it upstairs in a minute. I mean, this is at least 2 minutes worth of work," Lorelai said as she put Charlie in the play pen before she turned to look at Rory.

"Okay, maybe it was more than a minute," she finally admitted.

"If you didn't want to watch her, you didn't have to," Lorelai said, a little sharper than she meant to.

"I didn't mind, I just got distracted."

"By the music? Nothing else?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Mostly."

"And Jess was the minor distraction?"

"So what if he was?" Rory shot back as she stopped cleaning up the books and CD's. The pair glared at each other for a moment.

"She is your sister, Rory! She's almost 2 and is into everything, I've explained this before!" Lorelai said, a few notches bellow yelling. "If you tell me you're going to watch her, you have to watch her! You can't just sit her down with a toy and hope she'll stay put for an hour."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Rory threw back at her. "Do you think I meant to just let her have free roam of the house while I exchanged 'No I love you more!'s with my boyfriend?"

"Well, the mess I'm standing in the middle of says that yes, you did!" Lorelai said as she waved her arms around at the mess they were standing in.

"Fine!" Rory yelled as she dropped the books she had been holding. "If I'm so irresponsible, then you probably don't want me dealing with this, I'll probably just get distracted and wander off anyways!" she yelled at her mother before she stalked off into her room, slammed the door and cranked her stereo up. Lorelai glared at Rory's back as she marched off before she turned her attention to the mess she was standing in.

"Oops?" Charlie offered in a little voice as she peaked over the edge of the play pen.

"Oops is an understatement babe," Lorelai said as she finally took off her coat and began to put the living room back together.

* * *

"So," Lorelai said as she ventured into Rory's room after Charlie was down for the night. "Round 2?" Rory spun around in her chair and the pair stared at each other for a moment as Lorelai took a seat on the bed.

"I didn't. . "

"I know. I shouldn't have. . . "

"It's okay," Rory said and the pair fell into silence again.

"So, good talk?" Lorelai asked.

"Good talk," Rory agreed with a small smile.

"Good. See you in the morning," Lorelai said as she stood up, dropped a kiss on the top of Rory's head and pulled the door closed on her way out.

* * *

Dinner in Hartford passed rather quickly and peacefully since Emily wasn't there. The girls were mildly amused by Richard and his attempts at playing host and, with Emily out of the house, the dinner was a nice change of pace as well. They were served English style fish and chips, since it was a specialty of the new British cook. By the time they finally left, all of the girls were full and happy.

"I never thought I'd be thankful for a stroke, but, I am," Lorelai remarked as she, Rory and Charlie headed to jeep to head home.

"Mom," Rory admonished.

"Well, that dinner was extremely pleasant, you have to admit," she said as she got Charlie situated.

"It was," Rory admitted with a sigh.

"Okay, when we get home, I'm going to see Sookie and you are going to. . . ?"

"Stop in and see Jess before I go home and study," she said without hesitation.

"Ok, I'm dropping the jeep off at home before I head to Sookie's house. I can drop you off at the diner if you like."

"That'd be great," she said as they pair began to discuss their day on the drive home.

* * *

"Ah, thank God, someone sane! Come on up," Sookie said enthusiastically from her porch swing when she saw Lorelai and Charlie walk up to the house. Charlie quickly pulled her hand from Lorelai's and ran up Sookie's walk way. She crawled up the stairs and quickly got herself over to Sookie, demanding to be picked up so she could swing too.

"Your phone has been busy all night and I am dying to know what the doctor said," Lorelai said as she finally joined her youngest and Sookie on the swing.

"He said 'Congratulations, it's an It!" Sookie said with a big smile as she helped Charlie get tucked in under the quilt.

"Ah, I loved being pregnant, even more the second time around," she said with a smile.

"You'll give me lots of tips?"

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Tip one, milk the nap taking."

"Thanks," Sookie said with a chuckle.

"So, what are you doing out here? It's cold," she said as she pulled the quilt out from underneath her and threw it over her legs. Lorelai listened, almost in disbelief as Sookie spilled out her adventures. "Have you tried slapping him?" Lorelai asked after Jackson had popped his head out to announce first that he was selling his truck and later to ask if Sookie wanted to move out for three months while they built an extension on the house.

"No, he won't let me lift my arm above my head in case if stretches Baby," she said as Lorelai tried very hard not to laugh. "This stinks. We never even got to celebrate. He went straight to budgets and minivans," Sookie lamented as she welcomed Charlie onto her lap.

"Well, what he's doing is sweet. . . In its own obnoxious way," Lorelai said, offering Sookie a sympathetic smile.

"See, I'm starting to think that you had the right idea," Sookie said glumly.

"About what, honey?" Lorelai asked sympathetically.

"Going at it alone. At least that way, there's only you bringing the crazy."

"It is going to be so much better with Jackson," Lorelai assured her as she turned to look at her. She quickly reached the swing and sat herself down beside Sookie and Charlie. "Even if he is bringing the crazy. It is going to be great to have him with you, even if he's only there so you can blame things on him."

"Whoa!" both women exclaimed as Jackson suddenly appeared in the door way, Sookie's cleaver in hand.

"What is this?" he asked, brandishing the cleaver for emphasis.

"It's my cleaver," Sookie answered after she and Lorelai had caught their breath.

"What if Baby fell on it?" he asked.

"You mean, what if Baby rolled off the sink and into the open second drawer? It wouldn't be good," Sookie told him, managing to keep a straight face. Lorelai wasn't doing so good in that category.

"It has to go," Jackson responded.

"I need it to chop stuff," Sookie fired back.

"We're switching to plastic," he said as he ducked back into the house.

"I can't use plastic!" Sookie called after him.

"And the Saran Wrap's history too."

"Jackson!" Sookie yelled as she passed Charlie to her mother before she threw off the quilt and headed into the house after Jackson.

"Whoa," Charlie said, looking at her mother.

"Whoa indeed," Lorelai agreed before she tucked Charlie under the quilt and they enjoyed the evening while Sookie and Jackson argued about her knifes in the back ground.

* * *

"So, then he just pops up in the door way, wielding Sookie's cleaver. . . And you're not listening to me," Lorelai said as she told Rory of her adventures at Sookie and Jackson's house after Charlie was in bed.

"Sorry, I'm still thinking about this whole speech thing with Paris."

"It really sucks that you didn't get to do the 'I win, I win, I win' dance," Lorelai lamented as she handed Rory a mug of coffee and ovaltine.

"It's not just that," she said as she stirred it a little before taking a sip. "It's just. . . I don't know," she finished with a sigh. "I think I'm just gonna go work on my chemistry a little more before bed. Night mom," she said.

"Night babe," she said as she kissed Rory on the forehead before she watched her wander into her room and shut the door.

* * *

"Go play in the living room," Rory said to Charlie.

"No," Charlie replied as she continued to bang on the toy she had dragged into Rory's room.

"Yes," Rory said as she finally got up from her desk and grabbed the mallet out of Charlie's hands.

"No!" Charlie cried as she reached for it. "No, no!" she said again when Rory picked up the box with the wooden pegs and carried it out to the living room.

"Yes," Rory said again as she put it on the floor, mallet on top before she walked back to her room again to keep studying. She had another few pages to read and she wanted to get them done before her mother got back with pizza and Paris called.

"No!" Charlie announced a moment later as she appeared in Rory's room again, her hammer toy awkwardly dragging along behind her. Rory turned around just in time to see Charlie plop herself and her toy back on the floor and start hammering away again.

"Charlotte Abigail I said no!" Rory said firmly in her best impression of Lorelai before she reached down and took the toy away again. She put it on top of her dresser as she headed out to the living room to find something quiet as Charlie sat in her room throwing a temper tantrum. "Here," she said as she handed Charlie a stack of books and a pull toy. Charlie let out one more scream of discontent as Rory put the books and pull toy on the ground in front of her. Charlie sniffled as she finally headed over to them and started to play. Rory let out a contented sigh as she slid back into her chair. "Oh come on!" she cried as the door bell rang. "What are you doing here?" she asked when she saw Paris standing on the porch.

"We have a speech to write," she said bluntly as she invited herself in.

"Yes, but we were supposed to do it over the phone. That was the plan," Rory said, not understanding what was going on. As Paris quickly argued her point, Rory gave up and invited her in and she quickly marched into Rory's bedroom, nearly tripping over Charlie who was still sitting in the middle of the floor, books and pull toy spread out all around her. Paris quickly laid out a plan as to how they were going to go about combining their two speeches. They quickly exchanged their speeches so they could each read over the others.

"Why did you use this font?" Paris asked.

"Because, I was on the crack," Rory replied sarcastically.

"Did you check these facts?"

"Yes I did."

"And the spelling of these names?"

"Yes, I did," Rory replied again.

"Rory?"

"What, Paris?"

"I slept with Jamie. Last night, after we talked," Paris blurted out, dropping Rory's speech to her lap.

"Was it something I said?" Rory asked quickly, not really sure what else to say.

"I went over there to study and he lit a fire and then we did it. What are your thoughts on that?" Paris said quickly, pressing Rory for an answer.

"My thoughts?" Rory asked as her brain tried to catch up to what was going on. As Paris continued to rattle on about her thoughts on the evening, Rory didn't really know what to do other than to listen.

As this was going on in Rory's room, Lorelai was returning from the pizza run. She was about to call out to her girls when she heard Paris' voice in the house. She froze for a moment before she quietly crept towards Rory's room. She skulked around the door frame, listening to the conversation for a moment and she was about to leave when the topic of who Rory had slept with came up.

"No, I never did with Dean," she admitted.

"Oh, well, then with Jess, right?"

"Um, no," she said, slightly embarrassed to be admitting this in front of Paris and her baby sister. Fortunately for Rory, Charlie was oblivious to the conversation, she was trying to decide if she wanted to snoop in Paris' bag or keep reading. Lorelai smiled to herself as she heard Rory say that it just wasn't the time for her to be sleeping with anyone before she sneaked out of the house.

"Hello, Mommy's home!" she called out a few moments later as she closed the door noisily and walked into the house.

"Momma!" Charlie cried as she got up as fast as she could and ran out of Rory's room.

"We're in here," Rory called out.

"No, you're in there, Charlie is out here," Lorelai said as she looked down at her youngest, her arms still full of pizza box.

"Paris is here," Rory said as Lorelai looked into her room.

"Hey," she said brightly with a smile. "Well, you're welcome to join us."

"I have to take my retainer out first," Paris said quickly as she slipped out of Rory's room.

"We're going shopping tomorrow," Lorelai said as she pulled Rory into a hug.

"Why?"

"It just seems like time. . . For new shoes," she said quickly.

"Okay," Rory replied with a smile as she continued to the cupboards to get plates and glasses out.

"I've got the good kid," Lorelai whispered to herself in a sing-song tone before she put the pizza box on the table and finally picked up Charlie who was still hovering around her feet.

* * *

Rory and Lorelai, Charlie on her hip, walked slowly across the lawn towards the mail box. They were still talking about Paris' melt down at Chilton during what was supposed to be the reading of their speech to celebrate the school's bicentennial.

"I just . . . I can't believe it," Rory said again.

"Well, you better. I was there too," she said as she put Charlie on the ground. They had picked her up from Sookie and Jackson's house on their way home. "You are getting to heavy to carry everywhere," Lorelai told her as Charlie looked up at her before she rushed over to Rory's side and took her hand.

"It was just so. . ." Rory trailed off as they reached the mail box. Lorelai opened in and looked in before she pulled out an envelope.

"The big one," she said with a smile as she handed it to Rory.

"Looks like Paris was right," Rory said as she held her Harvard acceptance letter in her hands. Lorelai looked into the mail box again and pulled out two more big envelopes.

"Apparently, you are the biggest virgin in the world," she said as she handed them to Rory. "Wow. So, what?"

"I don't know," Rory said blankly as she flipped through the acceptance letters from Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

"Well, what does this mean?"

"I don't know."

"Which one are you gonna choose?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know," Rory replied for the third time, her mind still reeling.

"So," Lorelai asked as she led Rory and Charlie towards the house. "What are the odds that Paris is ever gonna have sex again in this lifetime?"

"I don't know," Rory replied one last time as they entered the house. "Wow," Rory said again as she sunk down onto the couch, the three large letters still in her hands.

"You open those and start hyper ventilating while I get her read for bed," Lorelai said with a smile as she headed upstairs.

"Night Charlie," Rory called, some what distractedly.

"Night!" Charlie called back cheerfully. When Lorelai got back downstairs some time later, she found Rory in exactly the same position that she had left her in, only the Princeton envelope had been opened, Rory was reading what was in the Yale envelope and the Harvard envelope had yet to be opened.

"So," Lorelai said quietly as she sat down on the couch beside Rory, tucking her feet underneath herself as she picked up the Princeton envelope and pulled out the contents.

"So," Rory replied as she shoved the Yale pamphlets back into the envelope and grabbed the one from Harvard. She took a breath before she opened it. "It doesn't seem real," she replied as she dumped the contents out onto her lap.

"You're tellin' me," Lorelai replied as she turned her attention to the Harvard envelope.

"This is going to take some pro/con lists," Rory said absently.

"I'd be worried if it didn't," she replied.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Well, yeah," Lorelai replied. "If you had only applied and gotten into Harvard, that would have been it, but three of the top schools in the country want you, want to call little Rory Gilmore theirs. We have to at least consider them. It would be rude not to."

"Yeah, rude," Rory said, her mind already feeling more than a little overwhelmed at what these three envelopes meant to her future.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

* * *

"Oh my God, here," Lorelai said in frustration as she handed Charlie her pen and a piece of paper. "Go to town." Charlie smiled, more than a little satisfied that she could now write out lists like Rory. The girls quickly got to work on their respective lists until Kirk came over, attempting to sell his t-shirts with humorous topical headlines.

Though they didn't say anything, Lorelai and Rory were more than a little happy when Luke came over to their table and shoed Kirk away.

"What's with the lists?" Luke asked casually, coffee pot in hand, as he finally noticed the extra clutter on the table.

"You ready? My Rory, our Rory, Stars Hollow's Rory . . . Got into Harvard, Princeton and Yale," Lorelai said, unable to keep the large smile off of her face when she told Luke this.

"Wow!" Luke exclaimed. "Wow, wow. I can't believe it. I. . . I feel like I. . . "

"Yeah," Rory said with a small chuckle and a large smile. She felt the same way. The three of them smiled and chuckled a little more until Luke put down the coffee pot and very awkwardly gave Rory a hug.

"I'm, ah, not good at the hugging," he said after a moment.

"Oh, I thought it worked," Rory replied quickly.

"Thanks," Luke said, a large smile on his face again. "Man, this is big, right?"  
"Very big," Rory agreed.

"But, what's with all the pro/con lists?" he asked as he leaned over their shoulders to take a look at them.

"That's how we make our important decisions, you know that," Lorelai said casually as she stopped Charlie from writing on her arm with the pen.

"But you know what it's gonna be, Harvard," Luke said with certainty.

"Probably," Rory said.

"But not necessarily," Rory replied. The trio carried on a quick dialogue about Rory and Harvard for a few more moments until Rory excused herself, saying that she had school to get to.

"Hey, why go anymore? You're in college. Let's go truffle hunting or something." Lorelai replied.

"Maybe after I graduate," Rory replied with a large smile as she gathered her things, stealing her pen back from Charlie before she dashed out the door. Luke and Lorelai both watched her go, each wearing a large smile of pride as they watched Rory dash off towards the bus stop. The pair quickly fell into a conversation about Jess' latest accomplishment: being chosen employee of the month at Wal-Mart. Luke tried to play it down, saying it was nothing in comparison to what Rory had done, but Lorelai wouldn't hear of it.

"Are you going?" she asked when she found out that there was a ceremony.

"Oh, he'd hate it if I was there. You know, seeing him participating in some corporate ceremony like that, being called upstanding and responsible, it would kill him," he rattled off quickly. "Yeah, I'm going," he said, a smirk on his face.

"Good boy," Lorelai replied with a smile. "God, I can't believe that she's graduating. And that he seems to be turning into a model citizen," Lorelai remarked as she leaned back in her chair. Luke smirked a little.

"Yeah well, I told you she'd be good for him," he said, rather proud that things had worked out.

"Yeah, yeah," Lorelai replied with a dismissive waive of her hand. "How about some breakfast? Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes!" she said.

"Be up in a minute," he replied as he topped off her coffee and grabbed Charlie's almost empty cup before he headed back to the counter. He paused for a moment to glare at Kirk who was peddling his t-shirt at his table. Kirk quickly swept the shirts into the box that was on the floor beside the table before he tried to play it cool by sipping at his drink.

* * *

Luke fumed in the truck as he drove back to Stars Hollow after Jess' Employee of the Month ceremony. Her really wanted to believe that the manager was wrong, that Jess wasn't working full time but a small part of him knew that Jess was pretty hard to confuse with anyone else. He banged his hand against the steering wheel as the feeling that he was being lied to grew a little more.

As he came to a stop light, he relaxed slightly in his seat until his mind began to go over the whole situation again and again. He was supposed to be straightening Jess out, making sure he got an education. Things weren't going very well at all.

Luke heaved a sigh as the light turned green and he started to drive again. He hated to fail at anything, especially when family was involved.

* * *

Lorelai all but rolled her eyes as the recitation of The Raven dragged on. She really hadn't expected it to take this long, if she had, she wouldn't have brought Charlie with her, hell, she would have used Charlie as an excuse to stay home.

"I don't remember The Raven being this long," she lamented to Rory.

"It could've used some editing," she agreed with a nod of her head.

"Oh, hey, did you put drama school on the Yale pro list?" Lorelai asked, since they had just discussed this a few minutes ago.

"Nope," Rory replied casually, her eyes still on the Poe at the front of Miss Patty's.

"Come on, do it, we'll forget," she said as she juggled a squirmy Charlie in her lap again.

"I don't have a pen," Rory said as she looked over at her mother and offered Charlie a hand.

"Aw jeez," Lorelai remarked as she glanced around the room to see who she could beg a pen off of before she finally gave up on trying to control Charlie and let her stand on the ground. "Hey, psst," she said when she caught site of Nicole and Luke. "Hi Nicole," she said when Nicole looked at her first.

"Hey, how long is this thing?" Luke asked, leaning out around Nicole to look at Lorelai.

"He's got at least five never mores to go," she said as she watched Charlie move across the aisle to harass Luke for a bit.

"Ah jeez," he remarked as he looked down at the toddler who was now staring up at him.

"Do you have a pen?" Lorelai asked him.

"No," Luke said as he picked Charlie up. He missed the look that flashed across Nicole's face.

"Come on, cough it up," Lorelai replied, not believing that he didn't have a pen. Rory shifted in her seat so she could see around her mother to see what the commotion was.

"I don't have a pen," he said again, hands on Charlie's waist as she stood on his legs, staring at the stuffed raven that was on a pedestal on stage with the Poe.

"You've got a restaurant. Where's the pen you take orders with?" she asked, her voice starting to grow louder than the acceptable whisper.

"I wasn't anticipating taking orders at the Poe reading," he shot back, his voice getting louder too.

"Hmm . . . There goes your Boy Scout badge."

"Uh, mom," Rory said as she nudged Lorelai. She and Luke quickly sat back and grew quiet as the Poe on stage shot them a dirty look before he continued on with his recitation.

"Busted by a Poe," Lorelai muttered.

"Hey, Lorelai."

"Hm?" she asked as she turned to Nicole. "Oh, you're an angel, thanks," she said with a smile as she accepted the pen from Nicole.

"I'll need it back."

"Yeah, sure," she said, making a bit of a face as she turned towards the pro/con lists Rory had magically produced. She didn't really understand why Nicole felt it necessary to tell her that she wanted her pen back.

"Looks like Nicole's got a little attitude going," Rory remarked as she handed Lorelai the Yale list.

"Not really," Lorelai said. "Really?" she asked as she stopped writing and looked at Rory. Miss Patty interrupted before she could respond and the pair soon found themselves in round 10 of 'But you know it's going to be Harvard' that only ended when the Poe finished his recitation. Just as they started to relax, sure that the night was finally over, the second Poe who had been sitting a few rows up from them got up and headed to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special treat for you. It'll allow you to compare and contrast interpretations of Poe's most famous work," the woman who was the MC for the evening announced.

"Oh no," Rory said, her face paling slightly.

"Compare and contrast?" Lorelai exclaimed.

"That can only mean. . . " Rory trailed off as the MC announced that there was a second recitation of The Raven. As the pair considered their options and lamented that they couldn't play a drinking game, the second Poe started his recitation and as Luke gave a low chuckle at something Charlie was doing, Lorelai and Nicole shared a less than friendly look before attention was returned to the Poe. Lorelai frowned once Nicole was no longer looking at her, she wasn't really sure what she had done to deserve the look.

"Weird vibe in here. Very Poe," Lorelai remarked to Rory.

"Very Poe," she replied. She had seen the look Nicole had shot to her mother.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory both breathed a sigh of relief as they escaped from Miss Patty's after the Poe recitations were finally finished.

"Wait, Charlie," Rory said.

"Is still with Luke," Lorelai responded as they wandered over to check out what Kirk was up to.

"Shouldn't you maybe get her back?" Rory suggested with a casual shrug.

"Luke'll bring her over," she said. They quickly quizzed Kirk on the new t-shirts he was selling before Rory excused herself.

"Try and make it home in time for Charlie Rose. Billy Joel's on and he might cry or something," she said with a smile.

"Okay," Lorelai replied with a smile of her own as she gave Rory a squeeze before she headed home. Lorelai watched her go for a moment before she turned to look at Luke and Nicole who were finishing a conversation. She frowned a little as she watched how Nicole reacted to Charlie, but she returned her face to a neutral expression when she saw the pair split, Nicole heading to her car as Luke wandered over to her. "What was that about?" she asked him.

"What was what?"

"Does Nicole not like small children?"

"She's just tired. She had a long day and this Poe thing was longer than we expected," Luke said casually.

"Right," she said as they wandered towards the diner. "So, how was Jess' Employee of the Month thing?"

"It was okay," he said. Lorelai eventually dragged out the whole story from Luke and she made the same comments he had about Jess working full time instead of going to school.

"Maybe he's working when he should be in school," she said hesitantly. She took a few more steps before she realised that he had stopped walking with her. She turned to look at him.

"There is no way that he's doing that."

"Why?" she asked as she wandered back over to him.

"Because he knows the rules. He's gotta graduate to stay living with me. He's going, he's getting everything done, he's doing his work," he said quickly.

"You've seen this work he's doing?" she asked as she adjusted Charlie's sweater so it wasn't all bunched up around her neck.

"Not for a while," he admitted "But I know that he is." A moment of silence fell over them as Lorelai shot him a knowing look. "No, no way he's cutting school, it's suicide, no way."

"I shouldn't have brought it up," she said quickly.

"Ah, that's okay."

"Okay," she said with a nod.

"Good night," he said as he started to cross the street.

"Luke," she called out to him, an amused smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

"You gonna keep my kid for the night?" she asked with an amused smile on her face as she held out he arms.

"Oh, right, sorry," he said as he hurried back over and handed Charlie to her before he turned and headed to the diner. Lorelai snickered as she slowly began to wander home, enjoying the mild night and Charlie's chatter as she talked up a storm about nothing.

* * *

"Mom," Rory muttered at some God awful hour of the morning. "Mom, wake up," she muttered again as she flung the bedroom door open and flopped onto the bed beside Lorelai.

"What?" she asked, still mostly asleep and not bothering to roll over.

"Mom, it's Tobin at the inn, something's wrong," she said, as she let her arm holding the phone come to rest on her mothers arm as she made herself comfortable, starting to drift off again.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked, finally rolling over slightly, but making no moves to take the phone from Rory.

"The fire alarm's going off."

"That stupid alarm," Lorelai moaned. "It's always doing that. Tell him if he doesn't smell smoke, to reset it, and tell him he's fired and I'm gonna kick his ass around the lobby for waking me up," she muttered as her rant began to pick up speed as she started to wake up.

"He sounds freaked," Rory answered as she flopped her arm against Lorelai, trying to make her take the phone.

"Ugh," she finally groaned as she reached over herself and groped around blindly until she finally managed to grab the phone. "Tobin, what?" she growled into the phone. "Oh my God," she said as she sat up in bed. "Okay. Get dressed," she said to Rory as she hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Rory asked, instantly alert.

"Get dressed, get dressed," she said as she all but pushed Rory out of bed while she flung the covers off. Rory quickly rolled off the bed and scampered downstairs as Lorelai tied her hair back, threw on a sweater and quickly bundled Charlie up in a blanket and headed downstairs to meet up with Rory. "Ready?"

"Let's go," she said as she came out of her room wearing a sweater. Rory quickly grabbed Lorelai's purse and remembered to shut the door behind them as they dashed towards the Inn. They would have taken the car, but Lorelai had a feeling that the roads would be blocked by police and firemen.

* * *

Sookie and Michel stood at the front of the crowd of guests and employees as they waited for word from the fire chief.

"Ah, Lorelai, thank God," Sookie called out when she saw Lorelai and Rory rushing towards them.

"Hey, what's going on?" she asked as shifted Charlie from one shoulder to the other.

"This is Lorelai Gilmore," Sookie called out when the fire chief came close to them again. As Lorelai began asking what was gong on, the chief blew her off as he issued more orders. Lorelai frowned as she watched him head off again before she turned her attention to Michel and Sookie.

"Is everyone out?" she asked frantically pushing the hair out of her face with her free hand.

"Yes," Michel answered.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Sookie and Michel both assured her that they were sure. Head counts had been done numerous times. "We need to double check, triple check. Julio!" she exclaimed. "He doesn't start 'til six but some times he comes here early because his sister in law Rita gives him a ride on her way to work in Salisbury," Lorelai exclaimed, her mind racing.

"Oh!" Sookie exclaimed as she saw Julio. Lorelai quickly rushed over and threw her free arm around him, gushing about how happy she was to see him. The fire chief soon called her over to tell her that the fire was out, the structure was stable and that they'd be able to get back in some time tomorrow.

"Ok, here we go guys, phase two," Lorelai said as she began to mentally plan everything out.

"Lovin' the pace here," Sookie said with a smile.

"We need food, we need computers with Internet, we need phones. Michel, I need you on this stat," Lorelai said as she turned to Michel. "Hurry, hurry," she said to him when he didn't immediately start phoning about what she asked him for. "Rory?"

"Yeah?" she asked eagerly as she all but bounced over to her mother.

"Help the guests with the kids, make sure they're not freaked out. Gather them up and entertain them for a while so the adults can catch their breath."

"I've never entertained kids . . . How do I do that?" Rory asked.

"Uh, hi, your sister is a kid," Lorelai pointed out like she was explaining it to an idiot.

"She still thinks peak-a-boo is the best game ever," Rory pointed out.

"Take your socks off and do a puppet show," Lorelai quickly said.

"You've clearly never entertained kids either."

"That's all I can think of. Get cracking!"

"Yes ma'am," Rory said as she dashed off to find the kids. Lorelai quickly turned to the crowd to address them. She out lined the new plan of either helping people find a way home, or putting them up until they could get home and, until that happened, they'd provide anything and everything that they could. Lorelai quickly turned to Sookie and sent her to the market to pick up supplies for breakfast. She watched Sookie dash off before she caught Michel looking for a job instead of rooms for the guests. She plucked the cell phone from his hand and glared at him.

For once, Michel had the decency to look embarrassed before he headed off to track down phones and computers.

* * *

Luke watched as his diner was quickly taken over by a swarm of people and after he got over that shock, he turned his attention to Sookie and her kitchen crew seemed to be taking over his kitchen. He scanned the crowd for Lorelai, because she had to be involved in this.

"Lorelai, what is this?" he asked as he finally tracked her down.

"We had a fire," she said quickly.

"Fire, where?" Luke asked as she turned around, trying to keep an eye on Lorelai.

"Weston's Bakery!" Sookie called out.

"You're kidding," Luke said, not realising that Sookie and Lorelai were carrying on a separate conversation from the one he and Lorelai were carrying on.

"Everyone's fine," Lorelai told him quickly after he had finally figured out that Weston's was fine, it was the Inn that had caught fire. "The Inn's still standing, we're into phase two," she told him.

"What is phase two?" he asked as he turned his attention to the kitchen where Sookie was yelling to push his food off of the grill. "We both can't be making different stuff at the same time," he finally said.

"Oh, you're right," Lorelai said and she furrowed her brow as she considered this for a moment. She turned to the crowd in the diner after a moment and asked if people would be willing to trade their orders for something from Sookie. When the diner agreed, Luke could only throw his hands in the air.

"I'm an island," he muttered as he turned his gaze to Lorelai again.

"Luke, I'm sorry about all this, but I'm not anticipating the inn catching fire ever again, so it's a one time only thing, okay?"

"Like I have a choice?" he asked, slightly sarcastically.

"You do," she assured him. "Say the word and we go." The pair looked at each other for a moment.

"Stay, cook, eat. I'll be upstairs," he said with a bit of a wave.

"You're a doll," Lorelai said with a smile before Luke started to head towards the stairs to his apartment. "Hey, Luke?" she called. He stopped and looked at her for a moment before he wandered back over and plucked the toddler from her arms who was just starting to wake up.

"Give me a shout when you want her back," was all he said as he settled Charlie, in her nest of blankets, against his shoulder.

"Thank you Luke," she said. He offered her a smile before she turned her attention back to the chaos that was going on inside the diner. She heaved a large sigh before she headed out to find Rory and the kids who were staying at the inn.

Lorelai headed to the park across from the diner and interrupted the puppet show Rory was putting on. She quickly gave the kids instructions to head to the diner for breakfast and to harass Luke for more of a puppet show when they were done before she and Rory headed over to Miss Patty's to check in.

Options were quickly discussed and another emergency plan to put people from the inn up was established, since every Bed and Breakfast and Inn in the area was booked solid.

"I bet the Kims could put people up. And Taylor. And Al," Babette said quickly.

"And we've got our couch and my room."

"Nope," Rory said quickly. "They can have my room, not yours."  
"No, hon, mine's fine," Lorelai said, the tone of her voice starting to border on exhausted.

"Mom, no, mine," Rory said again. "You are stressed out enough without losing your room. You need you rest, so you keep your bed. Period. Besides, if you give up your room, what are you going to do with Charlie?"

"I'll look selfish," Lorelai said. She knew Rory was right, but she couldn't help it.

"Well, if anyone calls you that, I'll kick their sorry butts." Lorelai couldn't help but chuckle. She loved it when Rory got all protective of her.

"Fine, your room under protest," Lorelai eventually agreed. They both smiled as they turned their attention back to Michel and Babette before Rory finally excused herself so she could head home to change for school. Lorelai quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug that Rory returned. "We had a fire," she said when they pulled a part.

"I know," Rory replied. "Bye," she threw in as she quickly dashed away.

* * *

Lorelai moved around the living room that night, helping Fred Junior get settled on the couch while his parents got ready for bed. She hitched Charlie up a little higher on her hip and the 22 month old let out a small cry of protest as she resettled her head on her mother's shoulder. Lorelai rubbed her back as she headed to Rory's room to see what she was up to.

"I would have done that," she told Rory when she saw that she was just finishing up the changing of the sheets on the bed.

"I feel weird now," Rory admitted as she and Lorelai tossed the pillows to the head of the bed before they moved to tuck the comforter under the foot board.

"Why?"

"About other people sleeping in my bed." The pair quickly slid into a conversation about Fred and his wife not feeling romantic before the subject was changed to the pro/con lists.

"They've really changed," Lorelai said as she looked them over.

"What have?" Rory asked as she put a few more things into her bag.

"The pro/con lists. In all the hubbub, they slipped my mind," Lorelai said as she focused her attention on the Yale list. "Yale."

"What about it?"

"Yale."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked again, starting to get frustrated.

"Yale," Lorelai said again.  
"Stop saying Yale," Rory demanded as she came over to look at the lists over her mother's shoulder.

"It has double the pros of the other two."

"I wouldn't say double," Rory said quietly as she fumbled with the strap on her duffle bag. The pair debated this fact for a moment longer before Lorelai announced that Rory was done.

"It's a wall," Lorelai said, shaking her head a little as Rory pointed out that the Harvard wall said something, meant something. "Look, honey, Luke was right. The pro/con lists have to come to an end eventually," she said softly as she dropped the lists back onto Rory's desk and pulled her close.

"But Luke also reminded us that it was supposed to be Harvard regardless of a list. Everyone thinks that."

"I don't," Lorelai said honestly. "I don't," she said again when she saw the look on Rory's face. "I know I'm the one who said no to Yale loudly and a lot, but not anymore. Really, I just want what's right for you."

"I know," Rory said, she'd never had any doubt about that fact. "But it has to be right for all of us."

"If it's right for you, it's really right for me and since Charlie goes along with any thing I say . . ." Lorelai said with a small smile.

"I don't want you to hate the place I'm going," Rory said as she leaned her head on Lorelai's shoulder.

"Never," Lorelai assured her as she gave Rory's shoulders a squeeze.

"Oh, uh, are you not ready for us yet?" Fred asked as he and his wife stood in the door way to Rory's room.

"No, we are," Lorelai said with a smile as she let go of Rory. Rory quickly grabbed her back pack and her duffle bag and the trio headed out of the room, closing the door behind them. She they wandered into the kitchen, the conversation quickly turned to Jess and his attendance, or lack there of, at school. While Rory assured her mother that Jess was for sure going to school, she couldn't help but start to wonder if she was lying. Her mother had given her a pretty convincing argument to suggest that he was working full time instead of going to school.

They eventually said their good nights and Rory left to spend the night at Lane's house.

"How about we go to bed now?" Lorelai asked Charlie as she turned out the lights in the kitchen. Charlie simply nodded her head as she was half asleep already. "Oh, hold that thought," she said when the door bell rang. When she opened the door, she was more than a little surprised to see the Hatlestads standing on her door step, saying that they had changed their minds about going home. Lorelai quickly plastered a smile on her face and told them that they were staying here and to just give her a minute to finish fixing up their room.

"Stupid Hatlestads," she muttered as she dropped Charlie in her crib before she quickly tore her bed apart and remade it with clean sheets. She also quickly threw together an over night bag for herself and Charlie before she grabbed the toddler and a couple of blankets before heading back down stairs.

* * *

Lorelai sighed as she and Charlie wandered through town. She trucked up the stairs of the gazebo and sat down on one of the benches, dropping everything except Charlie to the ground beside her. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and called Rory to lament her issues to her.

"Go to Luke's," Rory said immediately.

"It's closed."

"But Luke is upstairs," Rory pointed out.

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai said as she realised Rory was right.

"Ask him if you can stay," Rory continued on, ignoring Lorelai. "I bet the answers yes!" The pair debated the topic back and forth a little while later before Lorelai finally gave in. She gathered everything back up again and headed to the diner.

Lorelai frowned when banging on the diner door did nothing to wake up Luke. She quickly dropped everything but Charlie once more and picked a small stone up off the ground.

"STELLA!" she yelled as she threw the stone at Luke's window.

"Who is that?" he called as he swung the windows open.

"Lorelai!" she called up at him as she offered him a sheepish wave. The pair carried on a conversation for a moment until Luke's elderly neighbour swung her window open and started to yell at them for waking her up. Luke eventually agreed to put them up for the night, just like Rory said he would.

"Give me that," he said as he took her bag, blanket and pillow from her. He tossed them on the couch before he went to the closet and started to dig something out of the bottom.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she sat down on the couch, letting a sleeping Charlie sit on her lap.

"Setting this stupid thing up," he said as he finished wrestling something out of the closet.

"Luke!" she said when she saw him finish with the play pen.

"Well, you keep dumping her on me," he said with a shrug as he tucked it into an out of the way corner.

"Have I told you that you are too good for us recently?" she asked as she stood up and walked over to it.

"Yes, you have," he said quietly. "But you can say it again."

"You, Lucas Danes, are far too good for us," she said as she laid Charlie down and couldn't help but shake her head as Luke seemed to produce a blanket for the toddler out of nowhere. They stood, watching Charlie for another moment before they began the awkward conversation over who would sleep where.

"Take the bed," he finally said. "It's closer to her," he reasoned as he pulled out a clean set of sheets for the bed as well as some to throw over the couch. The pair fell into an easy conversation as they got things ready and as Lorelai finally finished tucking her sheets in on both sides, the phone rang.

"You didn't tell her I was here," Lorelai remarked after Luke had hung up with Nicole.

"She didn't ask," he replied as he got them each a glass of water before he turned out the main lights in the room as he turned on a few table lamps.

"You mean, she didn't, out of the clear blue and for no reason, ask you if my daughter and I were sleeping over?" Lorelai asked with an amused smile as she slipped her shoes off before she curled her legs up underneath herself.

"No, she didn't," he replied as he finished tossing the sheet over his leather couch. "And I'm kind of glad that she didn't. You and Charlie . . . You've kinda become a. . . "

"Become a what?" she asked after he trailed off.

"A sore point," he finally admitted. The fact that he was looking everywhere but at her wasn't lost on her.

"What, why?" she asked. Luke quickly related the story of talking about her on their first date and how, in his quest for topics of conversation, had mentioned her and Charlie more than once.

"She also doesn't really like the fact that I seem to watch your kid so much." Lorelai blinked for a moment.

"Your should have said something," Lorelai told him. "I would have looked harder for someone else, or I would have changed my plans."

"It's no big deal," Luke said. "She's just reading into things more than she should."

"Luke. . . "

"I don't want to talk about it," he said quickly. "We're just friends, we know that and I don't mind having Charlie around. It's a nice break every now and then," he said with a shrug. The pair grew quiet as his words hung in the air. The stillness in the apartment was only broken by the rustle of sheets as Lorelai and Luke each slid into their respective beds.

"Ooh, wow, total déjà vu," Lorelai said as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Really?" Luke asked from the couch.

"It's the alarm clock," she said, looking over at him and nodding towards the alarm clock he had just set for them. She quickly began to relate her dream about her being pregnant. She couldn't help but smile as she got to the part where he kissed her, but she hesitated in telling him.

"So, that's it?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.

"No," she said, a smile still on her face. "Um, you talked to my stomach and then . . ." she hesitated again.

"What?" he asked, sitting up a little to look at her.

"Uh, well, you kissed me before going to work." These words hung even heavier in the air than his confession about Nicole's feelings about Lorelai and Charlie did. When the silence began to feel heavy, Lorelai chanced a look over at Luke. "Luke?" she asked.

"Was it good?" he asked.

"Was what good?" she asked, starting to panic a little.

"The kiss, was it good?" he asked again. She looked at him for a moment.

"Yeah, it was," she said softly as they fell into silence again. She allowed herself to think back to the kiss for a moment, a small smile starting to curve her lips before she snapped back to reality when Luke shifted on the couch. "But, it was just a dream," she said quickly when the silence started to make her panic. "Dreams don't really mean anything, they're just a jumble of subconscious thoughts and things like that."

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Just a jumble of stuff you're trying to sort out."

"Yeah," she said again.

"Well, night," he said after a while.

"Yeah, night," she said softly as Luke turned out the lamps. Lorelai laid on her back, staring at the ceiling for some time after the lights had gone out. She had never in a million years expected to have a conversation like this with Luke anywhere, at any time, never mind while she was in his bed. With a sigh, she finally rolled over and closed her eyes for the night.

Luke opened his eyes shortly after he heard Lorelai roll over. He stared at her back for a moment before his gaze shifted to the little girl in the play pen at the foot of his bed. With a sigh, he rolled over onto his back an stared at the ceiling.

Lorelai had had a dream where he kissed her. And she had enjoyed it.

He didn't really know what to make of this. He heard Jess come into the apartment a few moments later and he was glad to hear that Jess had read the note he had tapped to the door, warning him that Lorelai and Charlie were spending the night and for the love of God do not wake that baby up. He listened as Jess riffled through his drawers before ducking into the bathroom. He listened to the shower turn on before he finally rolled back onto his side and willed his eyes closed for the night.

* * *

"How was your night?" Sookie asked the next morning as they headed towards the Inn. The fire Chief had just called while they were having breakfast at Luke's to let them know that they could get back into the Inn.

"Eventful," Lorelai said. "The Hatlestads showed up on my door step," she told Sookie as she turned her head to look at the chef, squinting a little when the sun got in her eyes.

"And you put them up?" Sookie asked as she pulled her coat a little tighter around herself, crossing her arms over her chest to keep it in place. She turned to look at Lorelai.

"What was I supposed to do? Kick them to the curb?" Lorelai asked, shoving her hands in her pockets as they walked and turning her eyes back to the road in front of them. "I gave them my room and then I packed up Charlie and headed out into the night."

"Why didn't you come to my house? You know I would have put the two of you up," Sookie exclaimed.

"I don't know," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I called Rory and she suggested Luke's so, I went to Luke. He has a play pen," she said as she turned to look at Sookie.

"Really?" she asked. "That's so cute," she added, a smile coming over her face as she pictured Luke with a playpen.

"I think I'm depending on him too much. I mean, the guy has a girl friend who doesn't have any kids, yet here he is buying baby paraphernalia because I keep leaving my kid with him," Lorelai exclaimed as she threw her arms in the air a little. The pair fell silent for a moment, but a bird calling in the distance continued to break the silence.

"Maybe you are," Sookie said slowly. She knew that she didn't sound very convincing, but she didn't really care. The town had a running pool on how long it was going to take for Luke and Lorelai to end up together. Needless to say, many were shocked that they were still apart.

"What does that mean?" Lorelai asked as they turned onto the drive way that led to the Independence Inn.

"I don't think that being with Nicole has done anything to that thing he has for you," Sookie said calmly as she shook her head a little and chuckled.

"Oh my God, Sookie, Luke does not have a thing for me!" Lorelai insisted as she came to a dead stop. Sookie stopped too. She couldn't believe that people were still trying to convince her that he had a thing for her. "If he had a thing for me, don't you think he'd have a reaction to me telling him that I had a dream where I was carrying his twins and he kissed me?"

"You told him?" Sookie squealed. She had been sure this was one of the secrets Lorelai was going to take with her to her grave. Or at least not confess until she was very, very drunk.

"It just came up," she said with a shrug as she kicked at a few pebbles. "I tell him that he kissed me and his only reaction was to ask if it was good or not."

"Really?" Sookie asked excitedly.

"Yes! Why would I make something like that up? I told him and he asked if it was good and then he was all just like 'well, night.'," Lorelai said, starting to gesture wildly as he voice started to pick up in volume. "And then, this morning without even asking, he just came over and took Charlie from me and told me to go and check on my Inn, that she'd be fine with him."

"Weird," was all Sookie could say. They looked at each other for a moment longer before they started to walk towards the Inn again. A heavy silence fell over the two again, only broken by the birds in the trees.

"What does this mean?" Lorelai finally asked, her voice was very quiet. Sookie glanced over at her while Lorelai kept her eyes glued to the dirt road in front of her. "I mean, he and Nicole seem to be pretty serious, but he's willing to keep shoving a thorn in the side of the relationship by watching Charlie when ever I ask."

"Sounds like a little bit of sabotage to me," Sookie said, with only the wisdom a married woman could carry.

"But why?" Lorelai pleaded. "He seems to have a good thing going with her," Lorelai asked, still gesturing slightly with her hands.

"See, we're back to the thing that Luke doesn't have for you again," Sookie pointed out with a smile. Lorelai furrowed her brow as she thought about this.

"This is going to turn into one of those crazy science fiction loops, isn't it? The ones that keep leading back to the beginning?"

"Oh yeah," Sookie said firmly. "This is one that would make even Mr. Spock's head hurt," she finished as they climbed the stairs to the Inn to greet Michel and the fire chief. Sookie had more that she wanted to say to Lorelai, but she bit her tongue, with everything that was going on, now wasn't the time. Lorelai quickly shifted gears, pushing all thoughts of Luke to the back of her mind as she out lined their plans for the day. They all hesitated when the chief told them to hold off on their plans until they saw the inside of the inn.

The three of them crept inside slowly, taking in the damage. Lorelai actually felt her throat tighten up when she saw all the burned furniture stacked up in the middle of the floor with water dripping from the ceiling. She slowly walked along one of the boards that was laid on the floor so she didn't step in the water that had pooled on the floor. As she looked more closely at the damage, the fact that the inn had actually caught fire finally began to catch up to her. Her home, her memory home, had caught fire and there was nothing she could do to save it.

If she didn't feel like crying in frustration over the whole Luke situation, she certainly did now.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

In the few days since the fire, the dynamic in the Gilmore house had changed and everyone felt it. Charlie clung close to Lorelai, wanting to be with her all the time while Rory buried herself in her home work, not wanting to think about her first home in ruins.

"You're quiet," Rory commented as she, Lorelai and Charlie sat around the back table in Luke's.

"A lot on my mind," Lorelai said distractedly as she played with her food.

"You wanna. . . "

"No," Lorelai cut Rory off quickly. The pair glanced at each other for a long moment before the pair turned their attention back to their plates. Charlie glanced between her mother and her sister, her fork in one hand while her other held onto a piece of chicken finger. Luke glanced over at the sullen group while he checked over his receipts of the day.

He was worried about them, they were never this quiet or despondent about anything. With a sigh, he put down the receipts and his pencil, grabbed a coffee pot and headed over to the girls.

"Hey," he said, offering a smile as he refilled the coffee cups. Rory returned his smile, but Lorelai avoided his gaze. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Not much," Rory replied. "I think I know where I'm going to school."

"Where?" he asked as he set the coffee pot down on another table.

"Yale," she said with a smile.

"What happened to Harvard?" he asked, more than a little confused.

"The pro/con list said different," was all Rory said. Luke couldn't help but smile and congratulate her before wishing her luck. "We're telling grandma and grandpa on Friday. They should be nothing short of ecstatic."

"I can imagine," he said. "Hey, how about some pie and ice cream?" he asked.

"Sure," Rory said happily. "Charlie will have some too. Mom?"

"What?" Lorelai asked, finally snapping out of her day dream.  
"Pie and ice cream?" Rory asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

"No," Lorelai said as she put her fork down. "I think I'm gonna head home."

"Are you okay?" Luke asked, scanning over her with a critical eye.

"Just tired," she said. "Bring Charlie home with you?" she asked Rory.

"Of course," she replied. The trio watched as Lorelai got up and grabbed her coat, tossing enough on the table to cover the meal before she left the diner. Luke turned his attention to Rory, looking for an explanation, but the teenager could only shrug and play with the left over mashed potatoes on her plate.

"She'll be okay in a few days," Luke said to Rory. "Her birthday is coming up, that always puts her in a good mood."

"Yeah," Rory with a sigh. Luke frowned a little when he heard the concern in Rory's voice.

* * *

Lorelai wandered home slowly after leaving the diner. She couldn't exactly put a name on what she was feeling, or why. Yes, she was upset about the Inn, but that wasn't it.

She had a niggling feeling it was Luke.

She paused at the cross roads. To the right would take her home and to the left would take her to the Inn. She stood for a long moment, considering her options before the mother in her won out and she headed home. She had told Rory she was going home, so she should go home.

She wandered down the road, her hands shoved tightly into her pockets as she considered the events of recent days. What Sookie said about Luke sabotaging his relationship wouldn't stop repeating through her head.

What if he really WAS sabotaging his relationship, at least on some level? Hell, what did she even think of Luke other than he's pretty to look at every now and then? She shook her head, trying to clear it as she glanced around her. Satisfied that she was still alone and headed in the right direction, she let her mind wander to Luke again. She and Rory had discussed him, in hypothetical and very briefly, but Rory had been right. He was the town Luke. If they got together, everyone would know and if something happened, everyone would know. She wasn't stupid, she'd heard about the betting pools and what everyone thought, she knew that they were being watched, gossiped about. . .

She shuddered, and not from the cold, as she dwelled on that thought a little longer. Luke was a good guy, good to her and her kids. He fixed things, did things for them with and without having to be asked. He was nice and good and kind, one might argue the perfect man.

"Ok Gilmore, you have got to stop thinking about this," she muttered to herself as she closed the door behind her. She stood in the darkened foyer for a moment before she shrugged off her coat and flipped on a light. "This is Luke we're talking about, the town's Luke. The Flannel Man, Burger Boy. . . Besides that, he's taken."

Lorelai wandered into the living room and took in the disaster that was in front of her: Rory's text books, Charlie's toys, more baby clothes and teenager clothes than they knew what to do with.

"He's taken and you're raising kids, he doesn't like kids other than in short doses," she told herself as she began to clean up some of the toys. "He likes baseball and . . . Baseball," she told herself. "Not kids. And he's taken, he's Nicole's Luke."

"Honey, we're home!" Rory called happily a few moments later. Lorelai looked at the stuffed spider in her hands, at Charlotte, before she turned and greeted her girls happily.

That night, after Charlie and Rory were in bed, she looked over at the grey spider she had tossed onto her night stand and sighed. She knew Wilbur was on a shelf in Rory's room but she couldn't stop thinking about Luke and the fact that he didn't like kids. Even if he did baby sit Charlie when ever she asked.

* * *

Fortunately for Rory and Charlie, Luke was right. As Lorelai's birthday began to draw closer, her mood began to perk up to. In fact, by the time Friday night dinner rolled around Lorelai was just about back to normal. She had pushed the thoughts of Luke aside for the moment and banished Sookie's words to the nether regions of her mind before she locked them up in a cage so they couldn't get out.

Lorelai and Rory both sat at the dinner table, snickering away at Emily and Richard as they bandied back and forth about the dish Richard was serving for dinner.

"He woke up this morning and suddenly just had to have this dish that his grandmother would make him," Emily complained as she reached over and pulled the spoon from Charlie's hands. "Why did you give her this?"

"To prevent that," Lorelai said a few moments before Charlie started to freak out about not having her spoon any more. She smiled as her mother sent her a look before she handed the toddler back her spoon.

"Here we are," Richard said with a large smile as he hurried into the dining room, oven mitts on her hands as he carried a steaming casserole dish to the table. "A treat for the masses," he finished as he placed the dish on the table and asked for Rory's plate.

"Smells good," Rory commented as she watched her grandfather spoon the casserole onto her plate in a big heap. Charlie stopped banging her spoon as she became distracted by the food.

"Oh, this is my favourite thing to eat as a boy. My gran used to make this for me whenever I was feeling a little sad. You know, if my cricket team lost or a girl I fancied turned up her nose at me," he said as he put a spoonful on Charlie's plate before he accepted Lorelai's. She quickly made a lesbian joke that was ignored as Emily took a few more shots at the dish.

"Come on mom, eat it," Lorelai said as she stabbed a carrot with her fork and offered it to Charlie who was simply staring at the mass on her plate.

"It looks like someone already did," Emily commented dryly as she pushed the mass around a little.

"Emily," Richard admonished. Rory giggled a little as Lorelai smirked while trading Charlie her spoon for a fork. Emily quickly apologised and agreed to eat a few bites before Richard changed the subject.

"Well, since you mention it," Rory said with a smile as she put her fork down.

"Now?" Lorelai asked.

"Why not?" Rory asked with a shrug. The pair each took a breath before they told Emily and Richard that Rory had been accepted to Harvard, Princeton and Yale and that she had finally decided to go to Yale. The pair were more than a little shocked when they got absolutely no reaction at all. As Lorelai and Rory tried to puzzle this out, Emily asked for more of Richard's dish.

"Pass the . . .?" Lorelai asked Rory.

"I don't understand. I thought you wanted me to go to Yale," Rory asked them.

"No, we don't," Emily said quickly, her eyes still glued to her plate.

"Absolutely not," Richard added.

"What gave you that idea?" Rory and Lorelai sent looks to each other across the table again before they began trying to convince the elder Gilmore's that Rory going to Yale was a good thing.

"Everybody in this room named Lorelai is over the moon about 'going to Yale'. Everyone named Charlotte would feel the same too if she was old enough to know what was going on," Lorelai said as Rory nodded in agreement.

"Which means that everybody else in this room not named Lorelai or Charlotte can be equally over the moon about the 'going to Yale'," Rory added. She and her mother watched as Richard and Emily finally came to life, jumping up and running out of the room to gloat to their friends about Rory.

"She's going to Yale!" Emily exclaimed happily.

"She's going to Yale!" Richard echoed. The pair stopped at the last minute and dashed back over to Rory and quickly hugged and kissed her. "When I get back, I'll teach you the fight song," Richard told her before he and Emily continued on their mad dash to brag to their friends.

* * *

"Rory are you home?" Lorelai called out as she dragged herself into the house at the end of the day. "Charlie, are you home?" she called out when she got no answer from her eldest. She dropped her bag and coat on the couch as she schlepped into the kitchen. "Ooh, mail!" she said brightly when she saw the letter on the table with her name on it. She quickly grabbed it and read it before she headed to the living room to grab her things and head to Luke's.

"Hey, I wondered when you were gong to get here," Rory said with a smile as Lorelai strolled into Luke's. She smiled at her girls and took in the lull in the diner.

"Hey," she said as she headed to the table. "I need a hug," she announced. Rory immediately stood up and threw her arms around her mother.

"What's up?" Rory asked after a bit as she started to pull away from her mother.

"Not yet," she said as she hung on to Rory a little longer. "Okay," she finally said as they broke apart. "It's just everything with the inn . . . I just. . . I guess it's all starting to hit me now."

"Is it really that bad?" Rory asked as she sat back down at the table. She thought that last weeks moping had been about the Inn.

"Everything is burned," she said. "There is no more dinning room, a huge chunk of the rooms are closed, the walls are covered in soot and the ones that aren't are cracked. . . " she heaved a sigh as she came to stand in front of Charlie. "I don't know what's going to happen," she said as she freed Charlie from the high chair and picked her up. "Tell me something happy," she said as she sat down at the table, Charlie on her lap.

"I'm working on birthday week," she said. "Well, Charlie and I are working on birthday week, but she's really here more for the moral support."

"Birthday week!" Lorelai exclaimed as she tickled Charlie, allowing herself to delight in the little girls giggles. "How much work have you put into birthday week?"

"Nothing's finalised yet," Rory said as she folded up the list she was working on. "I will fill you in later.

"Hey," Luke said as he came over to the table. He cast a critical eye over Lorelai for a long moment. "Coffee?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Lorelai said with a smile.

"To-go," Rory said. "You're gonna stay here for a while, right?"

"I can," Lorelai said, drawing the words out.

"Good. You stay here with her, I'll go home and study. Dinner later?"

"I'll bring something good home," Lorelai said as she watched Rory pack up her stuff. "Thanks babe," she said.

"See ya," Rory said brightly as she accepted her coffee from Luke before she slipped out the door.

"So," Luke asked as he slid into a chair across from Lorelai.

"So?" she asked as she and Charlie continued to make faces at each other.

"How's the inn?" he asked as he topped off her coffee cup. He watched as the smile that had been on her face faltered and a similar thing happened on Charlie's face.

"The inn is. . . The inn is standing," she said. "It smells burnt and it looks burnt and I really just want to sit down and cry every time I see it but I can't. So, I look at it and see that it's standing and then I go in a try to find a way to convince Tom that he can and will have the inn looking perfect in 10 days so that we can start getting guests back into said inn so we can start making money again."

"So, it's standing?" he asked.

"It's standing," she said with a small smile.

"And how are you?"

"I'm standing," she said. "Well, sitting at the moment, but you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean," he assured her. "You know that if you need anything. . . "

"I know," she said.

"Good. Fries?"

"Yes please," she said with a smile that Luke returned before he stood up from the table. Lorelai quirked her smile slightly as she watched Luke casually run a hand down the back of Charlie's head as he walked towards the kitchen.

"Duke go?" Charlie asked as she pointed at Luke's retreating figure.

"He's going to the kitchen," Lorelai told her.

"Titten?" she asked.

"Yes, the kitchen," she replied. Charlie considered this for a moment longer before she threw herself forward and threw her arms around Lorelai's neck for a moment. "Good move kid," Lorelai said as she enjoyed the hug before Charlie threw herself back and started to make faces again.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Rory asked as she and Lorelai peaked into Rory's room. 

"I'm looking," Lorelai replied.  
"At?" Rory prompted as she scanned the list they were putting together. With Lorelai's birthday at the end of the week, Luke would be around to give her her 5 hours of free handy work.

"Charlie is going to have to be moved out of the crib and into a real bed soon and that means that she's going to have to move out of my room and unless we're going to hide her in the second bathroom or under the kitchen table. . . "

"We have to hide her in my room," Rory filled in.

"How do you feel about that?" Lorelai asked as she turned to look at Rory. Rory considered this for a moment before she answered.

"Well, you're planning on doing this when we get back from Europe, right?"

"Yeah, that and toilet training," she mussed as she leaned against the door frame.

"I guess it doesn't really matter then," Rory replied. "I mean, I'll be living at Yale by then, so it won't really be my room any more."

"Rory, this will always be your room," Lorelai replied. "It doesn't matter where you are, what you're doing or who you're with this will always be your room and this will always be your house." Rory sighed as she glanced at the list again before she turned her gaze up to her mother.

"I don't mind if Charlie moves in," Rory said, looking her mother in the eye.  
"I'm gonna have to re-arrange your room to fit in another bed," she said. "I might even have to get rid of some of the furniture."

"Really get rid of it?" Rory asked. They had spent a lot of time picking out her furniture. Just about every piece represented another year they had survived together.

"At least put it in storage," Lorelai said. She and Rory each understood how hard this was for the other. Lorelai had always told herself that Charlie wasn't going to interfere with Rory's life, she wasn't going to push Rory around but now, Rory was going away to college and Charlie was going to be two in June and was going to have to start growing up. She was going to have to learn not to fall out of bed and how to fall asleep with just her blanket and thumb to keep her company after the lights were turned out and she was going to have to learn to do all of this in Rory's room. There were no two ways about it.

"I know," Rory finally admitted and Lorelai was more than positive that she really did know.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai said as she threw an arm over Rory's shoulders as she heaved a sigh.

"Other than moving home for the summers, that shouldn't really be a problem," Rory replied, responding to her mother's first question. "It's okay, really. Just try not to get rid of anything if you can avoid it, ok?"

"Nothing goes without your personal ok," Lorelai assured her with a nod and a smile. "And don't worry. Your bed is staying put until you move it, so is your desk. Maybe. . . Maybe we could look into more shelves? Maybe we could put some of the stuff you don't take to your dorm on shelves, free up some floor space."

"Sounds like a plan," Rory said as she leaned into her mother as the pair continued to stare at the room, both imagining possible floor plans.

"Good," Lorelai finally replied after a long moment.

"Good," Rory said in return. "So, should we keep going with the list?"

"Laundry," Lorelai said automatically, moving away from the unpleasant topic of Rory moving out as quickly as she could.

"Laundry," Rory said as she put it on the list. "Speaking of shelves, do you think he could build me another book shelf?"

"I have never been prouder of you than I am right at this moment," Lorelai said with a smile as the phone rang.

"And tell him to paint little flowers on it," she said with a wide smile.

"'Cause he's so good with the florals," Lorelai replied as she wandered into the kitchen while Rory finally grabbed the phone. Lorelai looked around her kitchen and she smiled as a thought about having Luke knock out a wall to make the kitchen bigger, maybe make Rory's room bigger too. Rory came into the kitchen after talking to Paris over the phone and quickly crushed Lorelai's hopes at having the kitchen expanded before she slid into a chair at the kitchen table.

"So, birthday week?" Rory asked with a smile.

"I'm never to tired to talk about birthday week," Lorelai said with a smile as she slid into the chair beside Rory.

"Okay," Rory said as she pulled the final list out of her back pocket. "I have found a sitter for every day of the week if we don't want to or can't take Charlie with us and I will be paying for it."

"You're so good to me," she said, patting the back of Rory's hand.

"So, Monday I thought we'd start with facials at Sloopy's after school."

"Mudpack Monday, I love it!" Lorelai swooned. Rory couldn't help but smile as well.

"Then we'll have double feature Tuesday, Sephora Wednesday, complimentary makeover Thursday, and then, bug fat fabulous Friday."

"D-day!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"BD-day!" Rory added.

"Culminating in the fabulous blow out of a party you're planning," Lorelai said as her smile grew a little more.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you wanted a party?" Rory asked as the smile fell off of her face. "I told everyone you didn't wanna make a big deal out of your birthday this year."

"You're not funny," she said seriously narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Miss Patty and Babette wanted to hire these two hot guys to carry you around all day and feed you Bon-Bons, and Kirk wanted to hire the Red Hot Chili Peppers to play a concert in the square, but I said 'Hey, please respect the lady's wishes. She deserves that at her age.'," Rory said with an absolutely serious tone to her voice.

"Why are you so cruel to Mama?" Lorelai asked.

"I have to go," Rory said abruptly as she stood up and left the birthday list as well as the Luke list with Lorelai.

"Where?" her mother asked with a smile.

"None of your business," Rory said.

"You are planning something for Friday night, aren't you?" Lorelai asked, a smirk forming on her lips.

"I'll bring back Chinese for dinner," Rory replied.

"And you tell people no matter what they say, I just couldn't accept a new car. It would be beneath me and I'd be completely humiliated. And a convertible would just make me fling myself off a building," Lorelai said melodramatically. Rory rolled her eyes as she continued on her way out of the house.

* * *

As Lorelai's birthday drew closer, Rory had to dig deeper and deeper for excuses to get out of the house. Fortunately, Charlie and Jess were more than willing to help out with this task. Charlie had suddenly become very restless and wanted only Rory to take her out side and Jess was more than willing to make up reasons for the two of then to hang out, even if it meant that Charlie had to come along too.

"Hey," Jess said when he ran into Rory and Lane outside of the video store. Rory and Lane had just finished picking up party hats, favours and other small things for the party.

"Hey," Rory replied. "Oh, before I forget, Charlie might be with me tonight."

"Does that mean I have to trade this in for Disney?" he asked as he held up the video he had just rented.

"No, just warning you. What did you get?"

"Almost Famous."

"No, not again," Rory complained as her face fell.

"I can't help it, I'm addicted," Jess lamented. Lane watched as the pair argued back and forth about food and movie choices and she couldn't help but smile at the whole performance.

"That's so cute. You're like a really sweet old agoraphobic couple," she said with a smile.

"Thank you very much," Jess said with a small smile.

"Okay, I've gotta go," Lane said as she accepted the bags of favours she was going to hide for Rory. "Bye," she called as she took off.

"Bye," Rory called. "You really don't mind having to keep an eye on Charlie with me?"

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "She's pretty cool for a baby. She's quiet and seems to be able to play by herself. . . As long as you don't start making me change diapers, we're good."

"Good," she said with a smile as they started to walk. He quickly began asking her about Yale and if she was still sure about her choice. As Rory rattled off some of the reasons she was happy going to Yale, including the proximity to Stars Hollow, Jess pointed out that hew knew how far it was exactly.

"22.8 miles."

"How'd you know that?"

"Do you Yahoo?" he asked her.

"You looked it up?" she asked him. Jess started to make excuses and all Rory could do was wrap an arm around his waist and smile. "You looked it up," she concluded as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head as they kept walking.

* * *

"I'm coming!" Lorelai called a she headed to the kitchen to answer the door.

"Me too! Me too!" Charlie called as she got up off the floor and ran after her mother. Charlie had mastered 'me too' a few days ago and used it every chance she got.

"You too, you too," Lorelai echoed back. "Aw!'" she said as she got distracted by the birthday Mallowmars that spelled out Happy Birthday Lorelai. "Coming!" she called again as she picked up Charlie before she had a chance to grab one. "Hiya," she said brightly when she opened the door and saw Luke and his tool box standing there.

"Your slave is here," he grumped as he held up his tool box. Lorelai smiled and stepped out of the way as he came into the house.  
"And where's the French maid outfit I requested?"

"I've got it on under the plaid," he assured her. She smiled as they quickly began discussing her birthday before they moved on to the things on the list.

"Me too!" Charlie called when she saw Lorelai grab a cookie off the table. She quickly broke it in half, giving part of it to Charlie while Luke headed over to the sink to fix the garbage disposal.

"Next," he called as he held up a spoon he had pulled out of it.

"You're so good!" she said as she headed to the cupboard to grab the box of Mallomars so she could replace the one she and Charlie had split. Luke furrowed his brow slightly as he watched this before he asked her about it, which led to a rather confusing, but typical Luke and Lorelai conversation about why she didn't just take the cookie from the box in the first place.

"Looking at the list now," he said as he sat down at the table. "Okay, stairs, gutters . . . Electrical outlet. Which one?"

"In the bathroom," she said as she sat down beside him, adjusting a few of the cookies. Charlie looked on as she chewed on her cookie, the chocolate melting onto her hands and face.

"By the sink of by the bathtub?"

"Bathtub," she replied as she looked around for a readily available paper towel or something else she could use to control the chocolate covered almost two year old in her arms. He finished reading the list before he told her what he wouldn't be able to do. "I'll be here tomorrow," she told him.

"Can't tomorrow," he said as he rested the list against the edge of the table. He quickly told Lorelai how Nicole's parents were in town and he was going to have lunch with them. Lorelai's eyes got wide, but she didn't comment on it.

"What?" she asked when he hesitated on getting up from the table. He quickly filled her in about Jess not going to school and she just sat and let him get it all out. He quickly outlined his plan for getting through to Jess and the two sat for a moment as they each took it in. "I'm sorry Luke," she told him as she grabbed Charlie's hand before she could wipe her hand on her sweater.

"Yeah, well," Luke shrugged as he got up from the table and grabbed some paper towel from the roll. "I'm gonna be upstairs," he said as he grabbed Charlie's hand in the paper towel.

"Okay," Lorelai said as she let go of the little girl's arm and took over for Luke. "Call if you need anything," she said as he made sure she had everything under control before he headed upstairs.

* * *

"You will never, in a million years, guess what happened to me today," Lorelai said as she breezed into the house, still riding high on the thought of all the Jimmy Cho's she could potentially buy.

"Well, you better just tell me then," Rory said as she carried a huge bowl of mac and cheese into the living room. Charlie followed behind her, forks held tightly in her little hands.

"So, my father calls me yesterday and asks me to meet him at this little coffee shop in Hartford, well, his secretary asked me to do this," Lorelai said as she tossed her coat off and sunk down onto the sofa.

"Okay, so far not so hard to guess," Rory said as she put the bow on the table before she headed over to the phone to pick up the three Happy Birthday headbands she had bought.

"So, we're there and he starts to tell me how when I was born, he went out and made an investment to celebrate," she said as she toed off her shoes and pulled her feet up under her for a moment.

"That party animal," Rory quipped as she put one of the head bands on Charlie before she handed one to Lorelai and put her own on.

"Well, long story short, they sold the land to the government so they could build a road and we are now $75 000 richer." Rory, who was in the process of sitting on the ground when she heard that fell the rest of the way.

"No way!" Rory exclaimed.

"Way," Lorelai replied as she slid to the floor as well, keeping a hand on the bowl so that Charlie didn't tip it in her attempts to get some on her fork. "We should buy a boat," she said after a minute.

"We could," Rory said as she helped herself. "But why?"

"Because rich people always have a boat," Lorelai replied, not understanding why Rory didn't understand this.

"We could park it in the front yard," Rory said with a smile and a small giggle.

"Yeah, like white trash rich people," Lorelai threw in. The pair shared another chuckled before they started to rattle off all the things they were no longer going to have to do to save up money. "I feel so rich. . . And suddenly in complete agreement with everything Bush has to say," Lorelai remarked as the phone rang. "I'll get it."

"No!" Rory said as she jumped up as fast as she could. Lorelai smirked as Rory tried to convince her that the call wasn't about her. Rory eventually answered it and disappeared into her room to deal with whatever crisis was happening with the pizza now.

* * *

The joy of Birthday week came to a crashing halt Friday night at the Gilmore Mansion when Lorelai handed her mother a check for what had been spent on Chilton. She'd had a feeling that something like this was going to happen, but she really didn't expect it to be such a big deal.

Lorelai watched as her mother stormed up stairs, followed quickly by her father as she Rory and Charlie stayed in the living room. As they heard a door upstairs slam, a maid walked into the living room and put two large pieces of cake on the coffee table in front of them. Lorelai and Rory picked at their pieces of cake while Charlie, who was fairly oblivious to the whole incident, gobbled up as much as she could.

"Should we go?" Rory asked after they were done.

"Yeah, wait here with Charlie," she said quietly as she stood up and headed upstairs. "Mom? Dad?" Lorelai asked as she knocked on the door she heard them talking behind. She waited for some one to answer the door, but no one came. "Well, we're gonna head home, it's getting late."

"Fine," Emily called back.

"Yeah, fine," Lorelai said softly as she turned and walked away. "Let's go," she said as she took her coat from the maid and ushered Rory and Charlie out to the jeep. Lorelai glanced over at Rory every so often during the ride back to Stars Hollow, but neither said anything. The silence in the car was only broken by Charlie who was chattering away in the back seat to herself.

* * *

"I know you're upset, hon, but trust me, they'll calm down," Lorelai said as she and her girls wandered towards Luke's for their traditional post-Friday night dinner coffee.  
"Why did you do that?" Rory asked. Lorelai looked over at her and frowned slightly when she heard the annoyance in Rory's voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Just giving them that check like that?" Rory asked. The pair stopped, Lorelai bending down to pick up Charlie so she didn't get away while she and Rory got all of this out in the open.

"Listen Rory, I'm not sure if you're aware of how hard it has been for me these past three years to be indebted to my parents," Lorelai said, looking right at Rory. "I decided a long time ago that I was gonna live my life without their help, but I went to them and I took their money and I'm not sorry I did, it was the right thing for you, but I don't need their help anymore," Lorelai spilled out to her eldest, trying hard to keep her voice level.

"Fine, but you didn't have to just throw it in their faces like that," Rory said harshly, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked everywhere but at her mother.

"I paid back a loan, you're supposed to pay back a loan! I have Polonius and the entire banking system on my side," Lorelai cried out to Rory, gesturing with her free hand.

"I just think you could've done it differently," Rory muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"How?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know," Rory said after a minute.

"Take a shot," Lorelai replied with a bit of a shrug. She shifted Charlie a little higher up on her hip and the toddler held on a little tighter, her free hand finding its way into her mouth.

"I don't know," Rory said again, shrugging her shoulders, but not uncrossing her arms.

"Rory, my relationship with my parents is very different from your relationship with them. You only know the warm and fuzzy Richard and Emily, and I only want you to know the warm and fuzzy Richard and Emily because they're your grandparents and they love you, but I have a different history with them and it was not all warm and it was definitely not all fuzzy. So do not judge me for repaying a loan that I always intended to repay, that I told them from the beginning I would repay, that I had to repay. I will not let them make me feel guilty for doing that and I will not let you make me feel guilty for doing that either," Lorelai said, struggling to keep her anger under control. The pair stared at each other for a moment as Charlie continued to stay quiet in her mother's arms, unsure of what exactly was going on. She looked from her mother to Rory, fingers still in her mouth as she waited for something to happen.

"I'm sorry," Rory finally said in a small, quiet voice. Lorelai watched as Rory's gaze flitted over everything around them, but her.

"It's okay," Lorelai said with a sigh as she threw her free arm over Rory's shoulders as they started to walk again. Lorelai came to a stop as they rounded the corner and she saw everyone gathered at Miss Patty's. Her eyes flittered across the Happy Birthday Lorelai! Banner before she focused on the massive pizza that was being lowered onto a picnic table by crane. "Oh my God, what is that?" Lorelai asked, a smile on her face.

"The world's largest pizza," Rory replied quietly with a small smile of her own. "Almost," she threw in.

"That is amazing," Lorelai said as she gave Rory a squeeze.

"Wow," Charlie got out as she pointed to the pizza that was slowly being lowered onto a pair of picnic tables by a crane. Lorelai smiled a little as she squinted to see that it was Kirk who was directing the crane operator.

"Wow indeed," Lorelai echoed as she squeezed Charlie a little closer.

"You like it?" Rory asked, glancing over at Lorelai.

"I love it," Lorelai assured her. "Thank you honey."

"Charlie helped too," Rory said. "She kept you distracted as well as pointing to various party favours."

"You two are the best kids ever," she said as she dropped a kiss on Rory and then Charlie.

"Go! Go!" Charlie said excitedly as she pointed at the party. Lorelai chuckled as she adjusted her hold on Charlie who had started bouncing a little and trying to lean towards the party.

"Hey, what happened to Kirk?" she asked as they started walking again.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

* * *

"It's been 2 weeks," Sookie pointed out.

"So?" Lorelai asked as she stared straight ahead. She frowned a little as her negotiation of the curb didn't go as smoothly as she would have liked.

"So," Sookie said as she glanced over at Lorelai, a smile on her face. Lorelai, who was pushing Charlie's stroller, returned the glance Sookie was sending her as they walked through town.

"So?" Lorelai asked again, having no idea where Sookie was going with this conversation.

"Have you talked to Luke?" she asked. Lorelai was pretty sure she saw a knowing smirk on Sookie's face.

"Well, I bought a cup of coffee from him this morning, so yes," she said with a smile. She tore her gaze away from her friend when she saw Charlie leaning out of the stroller. Once she realised she was just tracking ants, she turned her attention back to Sookie.

"No, I mean about his response, or lack there of, to you telling him about your dream," Sookie asked, lowering her voice a little, but not hiding the excitement that also tinged her voice.

"No, I have not talked to him about it," she said as they crossed the street. "Beside the fact that he's in a relationship with Nicole, that is apparently fairly serious since he met her parents the other day, I have no need to go and ask him about this. That dream was a long time ago Sookie, it was right after Chris left and I was hurting from that and all the pretty pictures I had of the perfect little family we were going to make. Add to that the fact that Luke and I still weren't speaking after the whole Jess/Rory concert incident . . .It was just a dream, Sookie. He knows that and so do I," she said as they wandered towards the taco take out window. "And, to add to this, that whole conversation was two weeks ago and, I think I'm still dating Alex."

"You think you're still dating Alex?" Sookie asked. "How can you not be sure about that?"

"We've stopped calling each other and when we do, it's a quick 'hey, how are ya?' conversation with no definite plans to get together. We're worse than Rory and Jess, how sad is that?" she asked. Sookie shrugged, she didn't really know what else to do. "You want a taco?" she asked Charlie.

"No," the toddler answered quickly as she glanced up at her mother, around the canopy.

"Chicken?" Lorelai asked as she reached down to adjust Charlie's hat so it wasn't sliding so far down her forehead.

"Otay," Charlie replied as she went back to her people watching, satisfied that she wasn't going to end up with something she didn't want.

"She's turned her nose up at beef again," Lorelai remarked when she saw Sookie cast a questioning glance over at Lorelai.

"Tragic, silly girl," Sookie said. The pair shared a laugh as Charlie sent a look up at the laughing adults. "So, you're just going to ignore this whole Luke thing and hope it goes away, aren't you?"

"Well, what else should I do?" Lorelai asked as the line shuffled ahead a little. "I'm just over reacting," Lorelai finally concluded. "I just need to let it go and so do you," she said, pointing a finger at the chef.

"Well, you could always confront him," Sookie said with a shrug, ignoring Lorelai.

"And what good would that do?" she asked her as she turned to look at her.

"Well, maybe you could both get those feel . . . " Lorelai quickly cut her off.

"No, Sookie."

"But what if. . ."

"Sookie!"

"Letting it go," she said quickly, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, satisfied that this topic had finally been put to rest.

* * *

As the last few weeks of school approached, Lorelai managed to completely push any thoughts of Luke from her mind if only because the Booster Club at Chilton had sucked her back in and under the threat of not getting the graduation tickets they needed, Lorelai had gone back to them.

On the night of her second Booster Club meeting, Lorelai took a moment out of rushing around the house to run through some house party rules with Rory. She made sure that the teenager was wearing shoes with good traction, she knew to avoid the communal chip bowls and she knew the consequences of losing her house key that was now attached to her belt.

"Okay, you and Jess are going to Kyle's party, Charlie is at Sookie's house and I have the cash box that is missing $18," Lorelai said as she put on her coat while Rory examined the key that was now attached to her belt buckle. "You will be home at some point tonight?"

"Yeah," Rory replied. "It'll probably be late though, we'll probably stick around to help them take things down before we go."

"That's fine," Lorelai said. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

"I won't," Rory said with a smile. "See you tomorrow," she said a she kissed Lorelai on the check before she slipped out the door.

"See ya kid," Lorelai replied as she locked the door behind them before she headed to the jeep.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Rory asked Jess again. She watched as he shoved the hand she wasn't holding deeper into his pockets as he glared at the people who were dancing and talking. "Come on Jess," she said, trying not to sound like she was pleading with him. She was getting tired of this attitude of his. Just a few days ago, he had actually been excited to go to this party, he had been in a good mood, but now? Now he was sullen, even more than when he had just appeared in Stars Hollow two years ago. Rory was at a loss as to what to do to make him feel better. He refused to talk about what was wrong.

"Nothin's wrong," he told her and Rory had to work very hard to not roll her eyes. She settled for squeezing his hand a little tighter, like any good girl friend would. Jess sighed a little as his eyes raked over Rory's face. They hadn't let him buy prom tickets today, they had sent him to the principals office instead. When he got there, the principal informed him, in no uncertain terms, that was not going to be graduating this year because he had skipped to many classes.

"You're lying," Rory said bluntly. "Something has been up with you all day," she told him as she pulled his other hand out of his pocket and held onto it. "Come on," she said as she led him through the house and out into the back yard. They stood outside for a moment and he cast a long glance up at the stars that were starting to come out until Rory saw a play house. She led Jess into it and marveled for a minute over the fact that there were electric lights in the playhouse.

"Rory," Jess started.

"Just tell me what's wrong," she said. "You were really looking forward to this party and now all you want to do is take off." They looked at each other long and hard for a moment.

"I couldn't get prom tickets," he grudgingly admitted. He caught a glance of her face and he had to look away. He could see the disappoint in her eyes even though she hadn't said anything yet.

"Oh," she said, trying to cover her disappointment, but failing miserably.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly as he pulled away from her and wandered a short distance away so he could try and collect his thoughts.

"It's okay," she said. "We can do our own thing, something better than prom." She frowned when she heard him snort at the suggestion.

"Does Kyle have a sister?" Jess asked out of the blue.

"What?" she asked, completely at a loss as to how they went from prom to Kyle having a sister.

"Well, if Kyle has a sister, then the fact that they have this girly playhouse isn't all that strange. If he doesn't. . . "

"Oh, I don't know," she said as she finally walked over to Jess. She stood slightly behind him as he looked out the window. "Why couldn't you get tickets?" she asked him quietly. He shifted his eyes up to look at her reflection in the glass of the window before he slipped away from her and to the couch on the other side of the room. He flopped down onto it, but remained silent. "Jess?"

"Come here," he said to her. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she wandered over to him. She stood in front of him for a moment before she finally sat down beside him.

"What?" she asked as she searched his face for answers. He didn't say anything else before he leaned in to kiss her long and slow, his hands sliding under her coat as he started to lean her back on the couch.

* * *

Out of all the scenarios Rory had imagined for her first time, having sex with Jess in Kyle's playhouse was definitely not one of them. Rory laid in Jess's arms as her mind began to try and sort everything out.

"Rory?" he whispered to her as he pulled a blanket off the back of the couch to cover them up.

"Yeah?" she asked absently, her mouth running on autopilot.

"I love you," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. Rory's eyes grew wide when she heard this. "Rory?" he asked her quietly when he felt her tense up.

"I need to find my key," she said as she sat up and pushed away from him slightly, keeping the blanket pulled close to herself as she started to grab at their clothes, sorting hers from his.

"You need to find your key?" he asked as he sat up a little and fumbled with the clothes she was tossing into his lap.

"My mom put my key on the metal thingy on my belt so I didn't have to bring my purse. I have to find my key," she said as she started to get dressed. Jess frowned as he quickly pulled away from her and put his boxers on before he got up off the couch to look for her key.

"Here," he said as he picked it up off the floor. He held it out to her and she took it from him, holding it in her hand for a moment before she finished getting dressed. Jess frowned a little as he watched her before he started to get dressed again. "Rory?"

"What?" she asked as she ran her hands through her hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked her as he held her by the arms. "Did you not want this?"

"I . . . I . . ."

"Because you could have said no, I would have stopped. I thought you wanted this," he said quickly, trying to search her eyes for some clue as to what was going on in her head.

"Thank you," she finally got out. "For finding my key." He frowned as he blinked at her for a moment before he pulled his hands away from her abruptly.

"Your welcome," he said sharply as he threw on the rest of his clothes before he grabbed his coat and headed for the door. Rory finished dressing and stood in the middle of the playhouse for a moment before her practical side took over. She quickly rushed around the room, straightening things up before she turned out the light, slipped out the door and headed back to the main house to search for Jess.

Just as she picked him out by the beer keg, a fight broke out and the fighters quickly bowled their way through the house. It wasn't long before some of the larger boys had managed to throw the fighters out of the house. As the teenagers spilled out of the house to watch the fight, the tell tail red and blue lights of police cars could be seen coming around the corner to break up the fight.

"Jess!" she called to him when she saw him stalking off across the lawn. Just as she was about to run after him, she heard some one who sounded vaguely like Lane start throwing up in the bushes. She turned to see who it was and she was shocked to see that it actually was Lane. Rory dashed over to her friend and quickly gathered her hair away from her face as she turned to watch Jess stalk off across the street.

"Gross," Lane said a few moments after she was done.

"You sit here. . . Or over there," she said as she led Lane a few feet away from where she had been sick. "Sit right here. I'm going to ask Dave to take care of your drums, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a nod. Rory quickly dashed into the house and found Dave. She explained the whole thing to him before she headed back out to Lane.

"Let's go home," she said as she helped Lane stand up.

"Rory?"

"Yes Lane?" she asked as they wandered towards Lane's house.

"How were we?" Rory couldn't help but chuckle.

"You were great," she assured Lane. "Lane?" Rory asked quietly after a really long moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"I slept with Jess," she blurted out. Lane stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at Rory. "In the playhouse behind Kyle's house." The girls looked hard at each other for a long moment.

"I think I need to sit down," Lane said as she headed towards the curb. Rory followed her and sat down beside her. "Did you use . . .?"

"Yes, we did," Rory answered quietly as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"And he was nice?" she asked. Rory nodded. "What's wrong then?" Lane asked.

"He told me he loved me and all I could do was freak out about losing my key," she said. Lane just looked at her. "My mom put my key on the metal thingy in my belt so I wouldn't have to take my purse and . . . When we were done, he said that he loved me and all I could do was freak out about losing the key and Jess got mad and stormed off and then the fight broke out and you got sick and. . . It wasn't supposed to be this way," she lamented again.

"Nothing is working out the way it's supposed to," Lane said as she linked an arm through Rory's before she laid her head on Rory's shoulder. The pair sat there on the curb, trying to sort out their thoughts before they slowly pulled themselves up and headed to Lane's house.

* * *

Rory paused just outside of the Kim's fence to stare at the diner. There were lights on upstairs, but she knew that if she knocked on the door, chances were Luke would come down and answer. Rory pulled her coat a little tighter around herself as she slowly walked home.

"Hey, you're home early," Lorelai called from the couch when she turned to see Rory walk in.

"There was a fight," she said absently as she pulled her coat tight around herself again. "The police showed up and broke up the party."

"Your first cop raided party?" Lorelai asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah," Rory said, still standing in the doorway to the living room. "Mom?"

"Hey, you know what?" Lorelai asked as she turned her head to look at Rory and almost began to tell her how proud she was that she had been to a cop raided party. She quickly shut her mouth when she saw the look on Rory's face. "What's wrong, Rory?" she asked as she got up off the couch and walked over to Rory.

"Me and Jess. . . We had . . ."

"You had. . . . A fight?" Lorelai asked as she quickly got up off the couch and came to stand in front of Rory. She watched Rory look every where but at her. "You had a moment?"

"We had sex," Rory finally blurted out, tears in her eyes. "And he said that he loved me and I ruined it. It was worse than when Dean said he loved me," she said, starting to cry. "He said that and all I could think off was my key and what would happen if I lost it and then he took off and just as I found him the cops showed up and Lane got sick and . . . " Lorelai's face fell in sympathy as she listened to Rory go on before she finally pulled her into her arms and hugged her tight. Lorelai felt Rory start to cry harder and all she could do was hold her tighter and stroke her hair while she whispered that everything was going to be okay in her ear. Now that Rory was no longer looking at her, her face lost the sympathetic look and fell into a frown.

* * *

"Come on," Lorelai said quietly to Rory after she had mostly cried herself out. She kept an arm wrapped around her as she brought her up stairs and sat her on the toilet while she ran a bath. "Get in," she said when everything was ready. She headed back down stairs once she was sure that Rory had heard her and she found a pair of Rory's fluffier pyjamas and brought them upstairs, peaking into the bathroom just enough to drop them on the toilet lid before she closed the door again and went to get ready for bed herself.

"Do you want to stay here?" she asked Rory quietly when she saw her hovering in the doorway. Rory nodded and took a shuddering breath as Lorelai held out her arms to her and welcomed her into her bed like she had when Rory had been little.

"Mom," Rory said quietly.

"Tomorrow," she whispered as she held Rory close. "We'll talk about it tomorrow." She felt Rory nod and then grow still. Lorelai laid awake for a long time after Rory had finally fallen asleep. Rory had warned her that she had been thinking about sleeping with Jess, but thinking and doing were two different things. She had been dying to ask Rory all the important questions about protection and the like but she knew that now was definitely not the time. "It's gonna be okay," Lorelai whispered into Rory's hair as she finally began to fall sleep.

* * *

When Lorelai had finally fallen asleep, it had been restless. She woke frequently and with every little noise, real or imagined. Around 6 am, she just stopped trying to sleep and she simply laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. With a glance over at Rory, she brushed some hair away from her face before she rolled to her side and stared out the small gap of window she could see between the sill and the blind. She watched the sun slowly creep up and spill into the room and she finally looked away from she heard Charlie start to stir at the foot of the bed.

"Hey baby," she whispered as she got up and walked over to the crib. Charlie rubbed at her eyes as she yawned, but didn't complain as she was picked up, changed and brought back to bed. The Gilmore Girls all spent a quiet morning in bed until Lorelai's alarm went off, forcing her to get up for the day.

* * *

See, told ya I'd make good on the whole Rory/Jess thing. . . 


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked Lorelai. Charlie, who was sitting on Sookie's hip moved her attention from the guests milling around the lobby to her mother for a moment before she went back to people watching.

"Nothing's wrong," Lorelai said quickly as she continued to check through the guest book. Sookie frowned as she looked at her.

"Something is most definitely wrong," she said as she shifted Charlie from one hip to the other. "You're quiet and distracted and you have Charlie with you. You nanny cancel on you?"

"I'm quiet because I'm trying to concentrate and I'm distracted because I'm trying to deal with room bookings while talking to you and my nanny didn't cancel. Rory asked to have the house to herself so she could study and since things are generally cleaned up and quiet, I gave Heather the day off and brought Charlie with me," Lorelai lied through her teeth, finally looking up at Sookie. Sookie studied Lorelai for a moment before Lorelai went back to the ledger she was working on.

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked again. While everything she had said was a valid point, there was something else that Lorelai wasn't telling her. Lorelai finally put down her pen and looked around the lobby for Michel.

"What?" he asked as he came back over and noticed Lorelai staring at him.

"Nothing," she said. "Come on Sookie," she said as she headed towards the kitchen. "Some kid by the name of Kyle had a party and hired Lane's band to play at it," she said as soon as the blanket slid back into place behind them. "Rory and Jess, of course, went to the party and things got complicated," she said as she traced invisible patterns on the top of the stainless steel prep table.

"Complicated how?" Sookie asked as she sat Charlie on the empty prep-table.

"I don't have all the details yet but. . . " she hesitated as she tried to decide what to say. "Rory and Jess slept together at the party," she finally blurted out.

"What?" Sookie exclaimed.

"And apparently he told her that he loved her and all she could do was freak out about losing her house key and, of course, Jess took this about as well as Dean took Rory's hesitation when he did the same thing and he stormed off. Then a fight broke out and Lane got sick and she didn't get a chance to talk to him once she had calmed down a little," she said. Sookie's frown deepened a little when she could hear the stress in Lorelai's voice.

"Wow," was all Sookie could get out as she tried to wrap her mind around this.

"So, Rory is at home, in bed, or on the couch or somewhere in the house wallowing and I figured she'd appreciate being able to do this wallowing alone."

"Are they still together?" Sookie asked as she turned her attention from Lorelai to Charlie who was trying to stand up on the table.

"I don't know, I don't think she knows. I've never seen her that upset about anything before and it broke my heart," Lorelai lamented as she pulled herself up onto the prep-table so she could sit.

"Wow," Sookie said again as she leaned against the prep-table, an arm around Charlie's waist as she stood on the prep-table, testing out the slight bounce of the stainless steel.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Lorelai said, watching her feet swing a little. "Her first time was supposed to be perfect and on her wedding night and it was only supposed to end in tears because she was so happy and so in love with the guy she had sex with that she couldn't do anything else."

"Do you want me to take her for the night?"

"Rory?" Lorelai asked, more than a little confused as to how shipping Rory off to Sookie and Jackson's for the night was going to fix anything.  
"Charlie," Sookie corrected with a small smile. "Give the two of you a chance to talk or watch a movie or whatever you need to do? It would give us a chance to practice." Lorelai sighed as she considered Sookie's offer.

"I don't know, I'll call you tonight?" she asked as she ran a hand over the back of Charlie's hair. The little girl turned to look at her mother and offered a smile before she went back to bouncing on the table. "I should really cut her hair," Lorelai commented as she ran her hands through Charlie's curls. Her hair was long enough now to pull back into pig tails.

"Don't," Sookie said, understanding that Lorelai needed this nothing tangent for a moment. "Little girls are supposed to have long hair. I remember that Rory's was all the way down her back when I met her." The pair looked at each other for a moment. "We'll be home," Sookie quietly assured her with a smile as she gathered Charlie back up again. "Hey Peanut, let's go find a snack," she said with a smile.

"Yum!" Charlie said with a smile as she relaxed into Sookie's arms without much of a fight.

"Yum indeed," Sookie replied as the pair headed to the lobby and left Lorelai in the kitchen to have a moment to herself. Lorelai smiled as she watched Sookie and Charlie leave the kitchen and she took a moment to wonder what she had done to get so lucky to have a friend like Sookie.

Lorelai slid off of the prep-table a few minutes later and wandered around the kitchen before she came to a stop in front of the sink. She leaned against it to look out the window and observe the grounds. She sighed as her eyes landed on the potting shed. She stared at it for a moment before the event of the last few weeks, especially the last few days hit her with more force than she knew what to do with and before she knew it, she found herself sinking to the floor and pulling her knees up to her chest as she allowed herself a moment to cry.

* * *

Rory sighed as she looked up from her book when she heard a knock at the door. She looked over her shoulder at the door for a moment before she changed her mind and went back to her book.

"Rory?" she heard Lane call to her.

"It's open," she called back after a moment. Lane let herself in and quietly came over the couch and took a seat beside Rory.

"So," she said as she looked Rory over.

"So," Rory said as she put the book down and turned to look at Lane. Lane quickly spilled out what happened when she got into the house, how her mother wasn't up waiting for her, how there were no prayer circles or anything.

"And this morning? I got up and I went into the kitchen where she was making breakfast and I said 'Good morning Mama,'" Lane said, completely with gestures.

"And?" Rory asked eagerly. She had a feeling that the both of them knew they were just killing time before they got to the main discussion, but she was very welcome for the delay.

"She turned around, looked right at me and said 'Good morning Lane." Rory blinked at Lane for a moment.

"Really?" she asked, more than little happy to be thinking about something other than Jess.

"And that is all she's said to me all day."

"So, she's freezing you out?" Rory asked, tucking her legs under herself.

"Mmmm . . . more Stepford Wives than freeze out," Lane clarified. "I'm not really sure what else to do. I mean, I agreed to go to that Seventh Day Adventist college in Hartford so I can live at home and I volunteered to work at the church for the next two months and nothing."

"I guess prom is out too?" Rory asked slowly.

"I told Dave to forget it, I'm never going to be able to go now," Lane said sadly.

"I'm sorry," Rory said, sympathising completely.

"Well, you can go and then tell me all abo. . . I'm sorry," she said quickly when she realised what had come out of her mouth. Rory tensed up for a moment before she relaxed again.

"I wouldn't have been going anyway," she said. "Jess couldn't get tickets."

"Have you, uh, talked to Jess since. . . You know." Rory shook her head.

"I told my mom," she admitted after a moment.

"And?"

"She was great," Rory said. "I was a wreck and she was great. You know how when you're little and you have a problem and you tell your mom and she makes everything better? Or at least sounds like everything is going to be okay just because of how great she is?"

"Well, I remember your mom making everything better for me," Lane said with a shrug.

"Well, she just. . . She didn't ask any questions, she just did her best to make everything better and she even cancelled the nanny and took Charlie with her so I could have the house to myself."

"Can I just say again that I wish Lorelai was my mom?" Rory offered Lane a small smile. "Rory?"

"Yeah?" she asked as she looked up at Lane again. Lane quickly stood up and sat closer to Rory before she threw her arms around her best friend.

"It's all going to be okay," she told her.

"He told me he loves me," Rory whispered as she hung onto Lane tightly. "And all I could think about was finding my key."

"If he really does love you, he'll forgive you when you explain it to him," Lane assured her. "Jess. . . Jess is different with you. I don't know why, but he is."

"Lane. . . "

"Do you want to get a movie?" Lane asked quickly, not letting go of Rory. They had been friends long enough to know when the subject needed to be changed.

"I'm still in my pyjamas," she said as they finally pulled apart. Lane took a quick minute to look at what Rory was wearing.

"No one will notice," she said. "Come on, let's get some movies and then stop at Doose's to pick up supplies."

"Lane?"

"Yeah?" she asked as she pulled Rory to her feet.

"Thank you," she said with a sigh as she let Lane pull her towards the door.

"Any time," she assured her as they each tossed their coats on and slipped into their shoes before slipping out the door and strolling slowly towards town.

* * *

Jimmy Mariano tried to huddle himself further into the corner as he sat in the diner He watched as Luke and Jess rushed around, serving customers. He looked straight at the table when Jess rushed over.

"Do you know what you want?" he asked shortly.

"Oh, uh, no, not yet," he muttered, casting a few quick glances up at Jess before he turned his gaze back to the table top.

"You know what might help?"

"What?" he asked, still avoiding eye contact with Jess.

"Opening the menu," Jess said sharply as he grabbed a menu off of another table and shoved it at Jimmy.

"Yes, thank you for the tip," he said as he accepted the menu as Jess quickly turned around and rushed off.

"What the hell is your problem?" Luke asked Jess when they met behind the counter.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he grabbed the coffee pot.

"What do I mean? Well, let's start with you storming into the apartment before 10 last night and end with you snapping and yelling at ALL of my customers?"

"Nothing," Jess said quickly. "Nothing is wrong with me. The party sucked so we left early and if people weren't so slow today, I wouldn't have to yell at them," he said. The pair stared each other down for a moment before Jess stormed off to refill coffee cups. "And then there's that guy in the back corner who's moved in at that table and will not leave," he growled when he got back to the counter.

He dropped the coffee pot off before he picked up the plates Caesar had just finished and headed off to deliver them. Luke watched Jess go before he glanced over at the table in the corner Jess was talking about and he decided to head over and see if he was ready to order now. Just as he approached the table, the guy jumped up, grabbed his coat and left the diner. Luke was about the go back to the counter, but he noticed the guy's wallet on the table, so he grabbed it and dashed towards the door.

"Hey, you left your wallet!" he yelled out the door at the guy. "Hey!" he called again but the guy didn't stop. Luke sighed and frowned a little as he opened the wallet to check for ID and he frowned when he saw the name on the drivers licence. "Great," he muttered as he pushed the card back into it's slot and headed back into the diner.

* * *

"Mommy's home," Lorelai called out as she walked into the house at the end of the day.

"Me too!" Charlie called as she pushed past Lorelai and headed to her toy box.

"Hey," Rory and Lane both called from their position on the couch.

"Hey," she said with a smile as she finally caught Charlie and took her coat off. "How ya doin'?" she asked both girls.

"Ok," they both replied.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Lorelai asked Lane.

"No," she said with a sigh. "I need to go home and try and straighten this all out."

"Thanks for coming over," Rory said as Lane stood up.

"It was fun," she said. "See you later, hopefully?"

"I'll be around," Rory assured her as Lane grabbed her coat.

"Bye," she called to the room as she slipped out the door and headed home. Lorelai and Rory both watched Lane slip out the door before they locked eyes with each other for a moment. The stared at each other for a moment before Rory quickly focused on what Charlie was doing. Lorelai sighed and headed to the kitchen for a moment to start the coffee pot. She stayed in the kitchen, watching the black liquid of life drip slowly into the pot bellow while she tried to gear her self up for the conversation that was awaiting her.

"So, how are you?" Lorelai asked as she wandered into the living room, a cup of coffee in each hand. She held one out to Rory.

"How are you?" Rory asked when she got a good look at her mother. "You look sad," she said as she accepted the cup of coffee.

"I'm just tired," she said as she flopped down onto the couch beside Rory. "You wanna talk?" Rory quickly shook her head before both mother and daughter took a long pull for their respective mugs.

"Please Rory, I'm dying here." Rory and Lorelai looked at each other for a moment.

"He was nice and we were safe. Is that enough?" she asked quickly.

"For now," Lorelai agreed with a sigh as she suddenly found the rim of her coffee cup very interesting.

* * *

Rory hesitated outside of the diner a few days later. She finally took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked in.

"Hey Rory," Luke said brightly when he saw her come in.

"Hey Luke," she replied with a tight smile. "Is Jess here?"

"He's upstairs," Luke said as he nodded towards the stairs.

"Thanks," she said as she quickly headed up to the apartment. "Jess?" she asked quietly as she opened the door to the apartment. Jess looked up from the book he was reading and the two stared at each other for a moment as Rory slipped into the apartment. "Um, are you busy?"

"No, not busy," he said as he tossed his book down and crossed his arms over his chest. They stared at each other for a long moment. "Why are you here?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry, about the other night," she finally said.

"Oh,"

"Not that it happened," she said quickly. "For how it ended. I don't. . . I mean. . . I just. . . " Jess watched as she fumbled for the words and her hands fidgeted with each other. With a sigh, he got up and walked over to her.

"What happened?" he asked her. "What was up with that freak out?"

"I love you," she blurted out as soon as she felt his hands on her arms.  
"Really?"

"I think so," she said, her eyes searching his face.

"Rory, don't say it if you don't mean it," he said quickly. "I think I love you," he said, emphasising the 'think'. "I'm not completely sure." Rory thought about this for a moment.

"I didn't hear the think," she said quietly. "Dean and I broke up because he loved me and I wasn't sure," she said. He furrowed his brow as he considered this.

"Well, Dean was a jerk," Jess said. "He should have given you a chance to be sure."

"Thank you for finding my key," she said quietly, a small smile on her face.

"Your welcome," he said, still slightly confused about the whole thing.

"I won't freak out next time."

"Next time?" he asked.

"If there is a next time," she said quickly. The two finally looked each other in the eye, each wearing a similar smirk.

"You let me know," he said as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. The pair stood together for a long moment before he dropped a kiss on the top of her head and pulled her to the couch. "Here, I wanna show you what I'm reading," he said as he sat down and handed her the book he had been reading when she had come in.

Rory accepted the book from Jess with a small smile. She looked at the cover for a minute before she sat down on the couch beside him and he started to tell her about the book.

* * *

"You look better," Sookie commented a few days later as she and Lorelai, who was holding onto Charlie' hood, wandered down the street towards Weston's.

"I feel better," she said as she offered her friend a smile. "Rory's doing better, she and Jess seem to have worked things out, the inn is starting to look a little better. . . Things are just starting to get better," she said. "It's not gonna last thought."

"Why?"

"Rory has started seeing Emily and Richard again," she said.

"Ahhh," Sookie said slowly as she recalled the incident a few weeks ago when Lorelai paid them back for Chilton. Sookie listened as Lorelai ranted away about how her parents were having Rory over for a movie night after they were done stealing this idea from her, what would they take next.

"What's going on?" Lorelai asked as they came up to Weston's and found that the lights were still off and no one was inside. As they stopped to read the sign that was taped to the door, Lorelai quickly scooped Charlie up so she didn't keep pulling against her coat. "Oh my God," Lorelai exclaimed sadly as they read that Fran had died.

"I don't believe it," Sookie added. The pair chatted about Fran for a moment longer before they fell silent. "So. . . " Sookie said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I guess this'll put that old inn of hers on the market," Sookie said, doing her best to try and sound casual about it.

"Right, right. I mean, she wanted to keep it as long as she was alive, and now. . . " Lorelai trailed off as she and Sookie turned to look at each other.

"Oh my God," Sookie said after a moment.

"What?"

"You don't think that because we wanted the property so much, we killed Fran," Sookie exclaimed, her calm long gone now.

"What?" Lorelai asked, a rather horrified look crossing her face.

"Through the power of our minds."

"No, no, we wished for the property, not this!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you never know with Karma," Sookie exclaimed, a similar hint of panic seeping into her voice.

"Look, we loved Fran, right?" Lorelai said, trying to rationalise everything.

"Yes, we did," Sookie said firmly.

"And whether or not we get the Dragonfly Inn has nothing to do with her dying right now." The pair quickly began listing all the reasons why they might not get the Inn after all and finished by saying that they weren't going to think about it any more. They were simply going to concentrate on Fran. "You're thinking about it," Lorelai accused Sookie.

"Just about where to put the wood burning oven," Sookie said with a smile as a blush spread across her face.

"We'll put it in the apartment that we're sharing in hell," she said as they started to walk again.

"Let's buy flowers," Sookie said quietly.

"Yeah, lots and lots of flowers," Lorelai agreed, the pair shared a look for a moment and they each saw the guilt they felt reflected in each others eyes.

* * *

Rory shook her head as she listened to her mother and Sookie talking about what was being said in Fran's eulogy because of the mike cutting in and out. When they started to get a little loud, Rory quickly elbowed Lorelai and sent her a look and she was happy to see that her mother at least had the decency to blush a little before they started up again. Rory shook her head as she turned the page in Charlie's book so she could keep looking at the pictures.

Everyone in the church jumped when Taylor's marching band started playing even though he had cancelled them. As Rory, Lorelai and Sookie all looked over their shoulders at the band, they couldn't help but turn and smile at each other. This was such a Stars Hollow kind of event. Just as Lorelai was turning towards the front of the church again, a familiar face caught her eye and she took another look. She and Luke offered each other a smile when they recognised each other. She offered a little wave before she finally turned in her seat to face the front.

"Where's Sookie?" Rory asked after the marching band finally stopped playing and the funeral was over.

"Just giving out condolences," Lorelai said as she craned her neck to keep an eye on Sookie.

"And asking what you missed when the mike cut out?" Rory asked with a smirk as she picked Charlie up off the floor.

"And giving our condolences," she said again. Sookie quickly came back over to them and slid into the pew and filled them in As they discussed their chances of talking to the lawyer that had been pointed out, they quickly realised that they had lost their opportunity when they saw he was a paul bearer

"No, you guys go ahead," Rory said when she heard their plan to hover until they got a chance to ask about the inn. "Charlie and I will be in the back of the line so that when the earth opens up and swallows you whole, we'll be here to tell a story."

"Okay," Lorelai said brightly as she and Sookie slipped out of the pew and hurried to catch up to the group that was already getting into place behind the coffin. Lorelai took a quick moment to look around for Luke and was a little disappointed to see him already heading back to the diner. With a sigh, she grabbed Sookie's hand and rushed them to the front of the line so they were walking with the casket.

* * *

"Oh my God Rory, you are not going to believe what happened!" Lane squealed into the phone. Rory blinked a few times before she realised that yes, it was Lane on the phone. She took a moment to glance over at the clock before she responded.

"Aren't you grounded?" Rory asked suspiciously.

"I waited until she went out to Bible study before I called you," Lane said quickly as she huddled in her closet, the lava lamps and disco ball spinning and oozing away in the back ground as the cast a multicoloured glow around the closet.  
"Well, tell me then!" Rory squealed as she stood up from her chair and headed to her bed.

"I am going to my prom with Dave!"

"Oh my God!" Rory squealed. "How?"

"Dave showed up here after the funeral and told my mother all this really great stuff and she just told him some random Shakespeare quote and he actually went home and read the entire bible trying to figure out what she meant and when he showed up the next morning, she was so impressed that he had read the whole bible cover to cover in one night, she said we could go!"

"Oh Lane! I'm so happy for you!" she said. "I want you to take TONS of pictures and tell me everything!"

"I will!" she said as they shared another squeal of delight and giggle. "I better go."

"Bye Lane," Rory said happily before they hung up. She stared at the phone for a moment and she felt a flash of regret run through her since she wouldn't be able to go with Lane. She held onto it for a moment before she tossed the phone onto her bed and went back to her home work.

* * *

"We're closed," Jess called out when he heard the bell above the diner door jungle. He was almost done closing the diner and he really didn't want to deal with anyone right now. He looked over his should and saw some one still standing just inside the door. "Learn to read," he spit out as he moved the ketchup and mustard bottles as well as the napkin dispense onto the counter so he could finish cleaning the table. When he noticed that the guy still hadn't left, he stopped and took a good look at the guy. "You're the loser coffee guy," he said as he tossed the rag onto the table.

"Well, not as cool as Bono, but I'll take it," he said calmly.

"We're. . . "

"Closed, yeah, I heard," he said, rocking back and forth and the balls of his feet a little.

"Okay, so we're still . . "  
"I'm your father," Jimmy said suddenly.

"Closed," Jess finished his sentence. "What?" he asked as he took in the guy standing in front of him.

"I'm your. . . "

"Are you sure?" Jess asked. He couldn't really think of anything else to say to the guy. Jess eventually offered the guy a cup of coffee and the pair took a seat at one of the tables. The pair sat there, hunched over, staring at the table top. Every so often, when the other wasn't looking, they're cast a quick glance at each other. As the song Jess was playing on the stereo came to an end, Jimmy abruptly stood up.

"I gotta go," he said as he quickly dashed to the door. He threw it open and dashed off into the night, leaving the door swinging open behind him. Jess sat in his chair and watched Jimmy go, not sure what to do.

* * *

Rory walked slowly beside her mother, who was carrying a sleeping Charlie, as they walked home from the wake at Weston's. The walk around the square had taken so long that Rory had taken Charlie home for a nap while Lorelai and Sookie did what ever it was they were doing, before coming back for the reception.

"I was negotiating at a funeral," Lorelai said quietly.

"I know," Rory said with a small smile. "I saw you."

"I feel kind of dirty," Lorelai admitted as she made a bit of a face.

"So you should," Rory said with a sharp nod. Their conversation continued as they wandered down the street, but Lorelai changed the subject when she saw a red dress on a mannequin in one of the shop windows.

"That would look great on you," she said as they stopped to look at it.

"Maybe," Rory said quietly, crossing her arms over her chest. Rory listened as her mother started to go on about prom and did she want to go shopping in Hartford, or did Rory want her to make a dress. . .

"I don't want to talk about dresses anymore," Rory said abruptly.

"We've only been talking about dresses for two minutes," she said with a bit of a smile.

"Well, it feels like longer," Rory said harshly as she turned away from the display window.

"Rory," Lorelai complained.

"I don't need a dress," she said quickly. "I don't need a dress because I'm not going to prom."

"What?" Why not?" Lorelai asked. "I thought Jess agreed," Lorelai finished as she turned to look at Rory, a pained look on her face. Charlie stirred a little on her shoulder but didn't wake.

"He did, but he couldn't get tickets."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," she said with a sigh. "I didn't press for an answer and it wasn't really that big a deal because it didn't look like Lane was going to be able to go either, but Dave apparently impressed Mrs Kim and she changed her mind and said that they could go to prom and. . ."

"And you really want to go again," Lorelai finished as they started to wander towards home again.

"And now I really want to go," she said.

"I'm sorry, hon," Lorelai said as she threw an arm over Rory's shoulders.

"Thanks," she said as they fell into silence.

* * *

Jess and Luke stood staring at one another as they waited to begin round two. Round one had consisted of arguing over why Luke hadn't bothered to tell him that his father was in town. Luke had countered by saying that he had hopped that Jimmy would just leave town but he hadn't and Jess fired back, asking who had made it Luke's choice as to whether or not he knew his father was in town.

"I'm the one who's savin' your ass constantly!" Luke fired back at him. "I'm the one trying to knock some sense into that thick head of yours about the future!"

"Here we go," Jess said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"You don't take anything seriously. That's why you're doing so crappy in school. You're smart enough, you read more than anyone I've ever seen. There's no reason why you should be barely graduation."

"I'm not," Jess fired back.

"You're not what?" Luke asked, confused about what was going on.

"I'm not graduating," Jess yelled at him.

"Yes, you are," Luke said, pointing a finger at Jess.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Luke said, becoming more aggravated with the conversation.

"No, I'm not!" Jess hollered back at him. Part of him was rather impressed that the neighbours weren't banging on the wall.

"Yes, you are," Luke said again. "Because we had an agreement that if you were gonna live here, you were gonna go to school and you were gonna graduate."

"Well, I didn't and I'm not," he said. He stared at Luke definitely, waiting for his next argument. Luke started to harass Jess about why he had let this happen and what was his plan now, to work at Wal-Mart for the rest of his life.

"Why not?" Jess asked. "I mean, it's no diner!" he said sarcastically, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Hey, I own this business, kid! I built it, this is mine!" Luke yelled as he turned on her heel to face Jess and get right in his face. "I'm not at the mercy of some boss waiting and hoping to be chosen employee of the month for a couple extra hundred bucks and a plaque. I'm always employee of the month. I'm employee of the year, of the century, of the universe!" he yelled at Jess. "You should be so lucky to have a job like mine," he said, pointing a finger at Jess as his voice dropped to a low growl. He turned away from Jess, but quickly turned again to face him again, rubbing a hand over his face as he thought about the situation for a moment. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna live here one more year, you're gonna quit you job, you're gonna take twelfth grade over again, and you will graduate," he insisted.

"No," Jess answered simply.

"I'm not playin' with you here, Jess. You quit your job, you go to school."

"I am NOT going back to school," Jess yelled.

"So that's it?" Luke asked calmly.

"Yeah, that's it," Jess replied.

"Then you gotta go," Luke said. He looked at Jess for a moment, giving him a chance to change his mind. When Jess continued to stand his ground, Luke turned on his heel and headed to the bathroom.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

* * *

A few days after Fran's funeral, Lorelai pulled her self up out of bed and padded over to Charlie's crib.

"Hi baby!" she greeted her brightly. Charlie pouted a little as she held up her arms, signalling she wanted to be picked up. "Did you have a good sleep?" Lorelai whispered as she gave her a kiss. Charlie gave a sigh as she settled herself against Lorelai's shoulder while she played with some of the hair that had escaped Lorelai's pony tail. "We have to play a game today," she told the 23 month old as she got her dressed for the day. "We have to be quiet, shhhh," she said.

"Shhhhhh," Charlie repeated with a smile.

"That's right," Lorelai said as she left Charlie sitting on the bed while she dug her own dress and sweater out of the closet. "Rory's working hard and staying up late and she needs to sleep so we need to be quiet," she said as she slipped into her dress and threw her sweater on, doing up a few buttons before she grabbed her shoes. "Come on," she said with a smile as she helped the toddler slide off of the bed.

"Shhhhhhhh," Charlie said as they slowly crept down the stairs, more to remind herself than anything else.

"Shhhhh," Lorelai agreed. When they got into the kitchen, Lorelai quickly put Charlie in her high chair before she eased the decanter out of the coffee maker. Charlie watched as her mother crept over to the sink and turned the water on full blast to fill it quicker. Just as she headed back to the coffee maker, Rory rushed out of her bedroom.

"Hey," she said.

"OH!" Lorelai exclaimed as she almost dropped the decanter. "Rory, you scared me!"

"Sorry," she said casually as she headed back to the kitchen table to start studying some more.

"We've been sneaking around here like idiots trying not to wake you," Lorelai complained as she turned the coffee pot on before she headed to the fridge.

"I've been up for hours," Rory said as she picked up her pen and started to riffle through her papers.

"Why? Did you have a bad dream? The one where you finally meet Christiane Amanpour and she's really stupid?"

"No, I realized last night that at this rate, I will never finish all the work I have to do," Rory complained as she started to study again.

"What work?" Lorelai asked as she came over to the table to look at everything that was spread out over it. Lorelai listened to Rory as she ranted and raved about all the work she had to do and she quickly read the list that Rory handed her, allowing herself a snicker when she saw 'Convince Paris to give up gavel'.

"I made out a schedule," Rory said, handing Lorelai another piece of paper. "Every single moment of every single day from now until graduation is accounted for." Lorelai read over the schedule and started to say something, but stopped. After a moment of consideration, she decided to speak.

"You left off the Kiwanis Luncheon," Lorelai said quietly as she handed the schedule back to Rory. Rory quickly snatched the schedule back and looked it over, horrified to see that her mother was right and she quickly wrote it in the Luncheon while lamenting that she had to work her grandmother in. Lorelai listened as Rory went on about Emily calling her while she watched Luke appear at the kitchen door, making faces and gesturing to her. "Listen, I'm gonna go out and get the paper."

"Take her with you!" Rory said, pointing a finger at Charlie.

"She's still playing the quiet game," Lorelai said, furrowing her brow as she headed over to Charlie.

"But she doesn't play the sit still so there are no distractions game," Rory said tensely.

"Hey, could we move your chill session from four o'clock tomorrow afternoon to, uh, right now? That'd be great, thanks," Lorelai said with a tight smile as she freed Charlie and scooped her up.

"No!" Charlie said when she realised her juice cup was being left behind. She quickly flung herself towards the high chair as Lorelai struggled to keep a hold on her.

"Sorry," she muttered as she steadied Charlie in her arms and quickly grabbed the cup before the pair headed outside.

"Come here," Luke said as he grabbed Lorelai after she had slipped out the door and dragged her and Charlie around the side of the house.

"You are freaking out the freaks this morning," Lorelai snickered. Luke finally came to a stop when he reached the front door. Even then, he still glanced over his shoulders to make sure that no one was listening in as Lorelai did the same, a smile still on her face.

"Jess is gone," Luke finally said, his voice low and quiet.

"What?" Lorelai hissed when she finally recovered from the shock of that announcement.

"And I don't think he's coming back," Luke continued.

"What do you mean gone? Like gone gone?" she asked as she shifted Charlie from one hip to the other.

"Exactly like gone gone," he said.

"But when?" she asked, the arm that wasn't holding Charlie dropping to her side, almost in defeat.

"Last night. . . This morning, I don't know," he said as he his eyes landed on Charlie who was watching him with big eyes from behind the lid of her juice cup. "I went up there to get some money out of the safe and I noticed that all of his stuff was gone."

"Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry," Lorelai said sympathetically.

"Yeah well, forget it," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'm through with him. He's eighteen, he can do whatever the hell he wants. He's on his own though, I'm through," he said. More than anything else, Luke sounded like he was trying to convince himself of these facts.

"Luke," she said, reaching a hand out to him.

"No, it's a relief," he said as he took a step away from her. She had been right all along, he couldn't handle Jess. "That kid was driving me crazy. Let him make his own way from now on. Let him see how far that smart mouth of his gets him without someone watching his back. I couldn't be more relieved," Lorelai's frown deepened as she listened to him trying to convince himself that he had made the right choice again. "I'm just worried about Rory. I assume she doesn't know."

"She hasn't said anything," Lorelai replied quietly.

"I can tell her if you want," he offered, finally turning to look at her and Charlie again.

"No, it's okay. I can do it. I just have to figure out when. She's got a lot of things on her mind right now," Lorelai explained.  
"Well, don't wait too long, she'll notice eventually." Lorelai sighed and thanked him for coming. Luke offered a shrug and a bit of a waive before he wandered towards the stairs but hesitated and leaned against the porch railing instead.

"Luke?" she asked as she stepped a little closer to him. When he didn't answer right away, she walked up beside him and put a hand on his arm.

"I failed him," Luke said quietly as he stared out at Lorelai's front yard.

"You did not fail him," she told him firmly. "You supported him, you defended him, you gave him a chance and if he chose not to take it, there's nothing more you could do."

"Yeah," he said slowly, heaving a sigh. "Well, I should go."

"Do you have any idea where he went?" she asked.

"Yeah, I got a pretty good idea," he said as he looked at her and Charlie one last time before he headed down the stairs. Lorelai watched him got for a moment before she turned around and headed back into the house.

"Hey, there is no chill time scheduled for four o'clock tomorrow and the one thing I really don't have time for are your jokes, missy," Rory said to her as she waved her schedule in Lorelai's face.. Lorelai just stood inside the door listening and by the time her brain caught up to what had happened, Rory had already turned on her heel and headed back to the kitchen to bury herself in studying. Lorelai and Charlie looked at each other for a moment.

"Later's good," Lorelai told her quietly as they headed back into the kitchen to find some pop tarts.

* * *

Lorelai sat in the jeep for a moment when she got home from work, giving herself a moment before she had to go back into her house and deal with an almost 2 year old who wasn't going to understand that she had to go to Hartford without her shortly. She eventually pulled herself out of the car and trudged over to the mail box. As she flipped through the mail, her eyes grew wide when she saw a letter from Yale Financial Aid and she quickly tossed the rest of the envelopes back into the mail box before she quickly opened the envelope.

"Oh no," she muttered as she read that they were denying Rory financial aid because of the cheque her father had given her. She read the letter a second time and quickly moved to the front steps of the house, sat down and pulled out her cell phone as she quickly dialled the phone number at the top of the letter.

"There must be something we can do," she pleaded with the guy on the other end of the phone. "I mean, Rory is the most deserving kid there is, just seriously. You know, I don't know if you know the Kiwanis, but they gave her their scholarship and. . . Mmhmm . . . I understand. Okay, well, we'll just have to figure something out," she said tensely as the fruitless conversation came to an end. "Thank you, Goodbye," she threw in as she ended the call. She stared at the letter again for a moment as she sat on the stairs before she cast a glance back at the front door of her house. She couldn't really remember what she had come home for, so she decided not to bother going in, instead she pulled herself up off of the stairs, got back into the jeep and headed to Luke's.

If there was ever a time that she needed a cup of coffee, now was that time. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have time. She had been running slightly behind schedule before but now she was going to be lucky if she made it to Chilton only 5 minutes late.

* * *

Rory sighed as she trudged into the Gilmore House, having left her mother alone with Paris in the middle of Seniorpalooza. She should really be studying right now, but instead she was going to hold her grandmother's hand while she tried on a million different outfits before deciding on the first one she tried.

"Hey Grandma," Rory said brightly as she walked into the living room and took in the racks of clothes that where littering the room. Emily greeted her brightly before she introduced her to Miss Celine, the family fashion consultant.

"It's Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina!" Celine cried as soon as she saw Rory. Rory seated herself on one of the sofas as Emily and Richard rushed around, picking out outfits and shirts to try on while Celine began to tell her anecdotes about celebrities that she had helped dress.

* * *

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked Paris as she cocked an eye brow. Seniorpalooza was in full swing and the room was full of students were picking up their year books before gathering in clumps to sign them while others were waiting in line to buy tickets for class posters.

"Unbutton your top," she said again, perfectly serious. Every other table had a line but theirs and she was getting desperate to change that.

"No," Lorelai said, almost laughing because of the absurdity of the whole suggestion.

"Well, me doing it isn't going to help any," she said, freaking out about the fact that no one was buying their grad night party tickets.

"Paris, you need to relax. You need to stop worrying. You need to stop obsessing. You need to stop looking at my boobs," she said with a smile as Paris finally turned her head and started looking around the room again. As Paris began freaking out about no one buying their tickets again, Lorelai quickly distracted her by asking her to talk. Naturally, the subject of college came up, since that was all any high school senior could talk about at the end of the school year.

"If you wanna go to Princeton, go to Princeton," Lorelai said after Paris had spilled out all her reasons for not going to a particular college. "If you wanna go to Yale, go to Yale. Leave Jamie out of it, leave your mother out of it. Just decide whatever it is you wanna do and do it," she said, making sure that it sounded like sensible, motherly advice and not something you'd say to someone to make them hurry up and choose an outcome.

"I can try that, I guess. Thanks," she said hesitantly, already mulling this idea over and beginning to dissect the advantages and disadvantages of it.

"You're welcome," Lorelai replied with a smile as she opened her arms and leaned towards Paris.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a slightly horrified look on her face as she curled her arms against her chest and clenched her fists.

"I'm giving you a hug," she said with a smile.

"Why?"

"Just give into it, baby. Come on, you can do it. . . That's a girl," she said as Paris relaxed, ever so slightly. "Unclench the fists, Paris. Unclench the fists," she coached. Paris eventually did and Lorelai's smile grew a little more. "Yeah, there you go," she said as she managed to hug Paris. Paris, still feeling extremely awkward merely patted Lorelai's arm as she waited for the moment to be over.

* * *

Rory sighed as she sat on the couch next to Miss Celine as she waited for her grandmother to finish trying on dresses and for her mother to show up and take her home. Rory crossed her arms as she listened to Celine drone on about how college required a whole new wardrobe.

"So it's the blue?" she asked after her grandmother finally came back down stairs and announced that she had chosen her dress.

"Yes, I think it's the blue. I think it's quite suitable for my granddaughter's graduation," she said with a smile as she came to sit on the sofa beside Rory.

"Hey," Lorelai called as she walked into the Gilmore House. "Hi hon, hi mom," she said with a smile as she turned Charlie loose in the house.

"Hey," Rory said with a smile as Charlie headed straight to her, asking to be picked up.

"What are you doing here?" Emily demanded when she saw Lorelai.

"I just came to pick Rory up," she said brightly. "Miss Celine," she exclaimed when she saw her.

"Oh my God, it's Natalie Wood! Look Sabrina, it's Natalie Wood! And this little one!" She exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on Charlie. The toddlers eyes got wide and she pulled herself up on to the couch next to Rory, clinging to her. "It's Shirley Temple!" Celine exclaimed as she took in Charlie's eyes and curls. Neither Rory nor Lorelai felt a strong need to point out that Charlie wasn't blonde. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the happy conversation. As Celine headed upstairs to gather up the clothes, Emily began making excuses as to why dinner wasn't actually ready and that Lorelai, Rory and Charlie couldn't stay for dinner, even if it had been ready, because they had plans.

"Emily, for heaven's sake, it's 7:10. Why aren't we eating?" Richard asked as he walked into the living room. Lorelai shot a look at Emily before she turned to her father.

"Oh, hi dad. Listen, um, Rory and Charlie are gonna stay for dinner if you guys don't have any plans."

"Of course we don't have any plans," he said, a smile lighting up his face. "Oh I'm thrilled they're staying. The two of you have just livened up a very boring night in the Gilmore House," he said as he beamed a large smile at Rory and Charlie.

"Enjoy your dinner," Lorelai said quickly as she grabbed her purse off the couch, ignoring the look her mother was sending her father. "And mom, get yourself an agent 'cause you're wasting that talent of yours in dinner theatre."

"Mom, wait!" Rory called after her as she saw Lorelai stalking towards the door. She sat Charlie on her hip as she dashed after Lorelai. "Mom, wait. Where are you going?" she demanded when she caught up to Lorelai at the jeep.

"I'm gonna drive in a circle backwards really fast to reverse the Earth's orbit to go back in time to before I made the insane decision to come here in the first place," she muttered as she took Charlie from Rory.

"You came here to pick me up," Rory pointed out.

"What was I thinking, doing that?"

"You were thinking, 'Hey, wouldn't it be great for my daughter not to have to walk all the way back to Stars Hollow.'," Rory said, her brow furrowing slightly as she watched her mother open the jeep and start to put Charlie into her car seat.

"Well, a thirty-mile hike never hurt anyone," she quipped. "God, I can't believe her."

"And I can't believe you!"

"Why?" she asked, rather hurt to hear this.

"You were gonna leave us here?" The pair debated this fact for a few moments until Rory put an end to the conversation. "So, we're going?" she asked.

"Yes, we're going," Lorelai said with a defeated sigh.

"Okay, I have to go get my books. Please be here when I come back," Rory said as she headed back into the house. Rory quickly grabbed her bag and told her grandmother that she wasn't staying for dinner after all and that she'd see her at graduation.

"I swear," Emily said as she folded a few clothing items. "I don't know what to do with that mother of yours. I really don't. Everything has to be such a scene."

"I think you're being really stupid," Rory threw at her before she slipped out the door, leaving a shocked Emily behind her.

* * *

The drive back to Stars Hollow was quiet. The girls had found an all you can eat restaurant in Hartford and they had loaded up before coming home and now Charlie was in a food coma while Rory was studying. As they drove through town, Rory announced she was done the chapter she had been reading and told her mother she could begin to rave about the restaurant. Lorelai immediately began gushing about how great the restaurant was before Rory interrupted and asked if she thought Luke was going to be able to tell that they had cheated on him with an all you can eat buffet?

Lorelai snickered at this and said that she wasn't sure as they came to a stop at the only light in town. Rory quickly began to complain about he fact that she stopped and all Lorelai could say in her own defence was that she already had two tickets and she couldn't chance another. As they sat waiting for the light to change, they glanced over and saw Luke sweeping the sidewalk in front of his diner.

"So, are you sure he won't be able to tell?" Rory asked as she and her mother looked at Luke.

"Yeah, as long as you don't tell him," she said. They both frowned as they watched him look up and catch a glance of them before he dashed into the diner.

"Um, mom, why did Luke just bolt away from us?" A slight chuckle in Rory's voice as she asked.

"Maybe he saw the glow," she said, chuckling awkwardly. The tone in Lorelai's voice made Rory hesitate.

"Mom?" Rory asked as she turned to stare at her mother. Lorelai fidgeted for a moment uder Rory's scrutiny.

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "First of all, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just thought with all the stuff you were doing, maybe I should wait."

"What's going on?" Rory asked, her hands fidgeting with the book that was in her lap.

"Jess is gone. Luke knows where, but he didn't tell me and he doesn't seem to think he's coming back," she said quietly. The pair sat quietly for a moment as Rory mulled this over.

"Neither do I," Rory said quietly. She had met up with Jess on the bus the other day but she hadn't told Lorelai. Their conversation had been awkward and she knew something was up, but she didn't push him since they were just getting back to a good place after the incident at Kyle's party.

"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked her, a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah," she said quietly as she turned her attention back to her book.

"Ugh, forget this," Lorelai said as she checked the intersection before she gunned the jeep and sped off through the intersection, a police motorcycle pulling out from behind the statue, sirens on, following her.

* * *

When they got home, Lorelai carried Charlie, and another ticket, up the stairs and tucked her into bed as Rory complained about the work she had to do as well as how tired she was. When she came back downstairs, she noticed Rory's year book laying on the coffee table and she picked it up and began to leaf through it. Her eyes began to tear the more she read through it as she realised that Rory was being called valedictorian by just about everyone.

"Hey, you know what's weird?" she asked as she wandered into the kitchen. "A lot of kids in here are calling you a valedictorian. Is that anything like a dirty skank, 'cause if it is, I'll kick their plaid butts up and down the sidewalk," she watched as Rory slouched a little and looked everywhere but at her mother. "Were you named valedictorian?" she asked, growing even more teary eyed.

"Yes, and you know what that means?" she said, a little sharper and a little more agitated than she meant to. "One more stupid speech that I have to write, that I don't have to time to write, but nevertheless, I have to write," Rory ranted as she clutched a bunch of papers in her hands.

"Hey," Lorelai said with a smile as she put the year book on the kitchen table. "Listen my little Holly Hunter in Broadcast News, I'm gonna let you freak out and study like a mad woman and stress yourself out until finals, but once they're over, we are goanna celebrate big time. . . 'cause this is amazing," she said as she gave Rory a hug.

"Yeah, it is," Rory admitted with a teary smile of her own.

"Okay," she said, dropping a kiss on Rory's forehead. "Go make mommy nervous." Her smile grew a little more as she watched Rory drop off a load of papers on the kitchen table before she wandered into her room for more. She offered Rory one more smile before she left the kitchen and headed upstairs.

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

Well, here it is, the last 'episode' of season 3. This time, yes, there really will be a sizable break between season 3 and 4, simply because my muse has taken off to places unknown. Ditto goes for Split Second.

sigh The life of a writer.

* * *

Charlie calmly dragged her bean bag chair closer to the couch. Sookie had dropped it off a few weeks ago, declaring that Charlie needed a chair all her own in the living room. After some initial hesitation, Charlie took to the chair like a fish to water. She was especially pleased to find a little handle on it that allowed her to move it around the living room to her heart's content. When she was happy with where it was, she flopped herself into it and cocked her head to the side as she watched her mother sort the laundry into two piles. She looked down the hallway when she heard her mother call out to Rory and she watched as Rory tossed a pile of her clothes out into the kitchen. She turned her attention back to her mother when she let out a frustrated growl before she kicked the coffee table and flopped back against the sofa.

"Momma?" Charlie asked from her seat.

"What, baby mine?" she asked.

"Dat?" she asked, pointing to the piles of clothes that now littered the living room.

"Rory and I are packing for Europe," she said as she sat up and leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Momma go?" Charlie asked, dropping her hand to her lap and frowning a little.

"Yes," she said. "Me and Rory are going on a trip."

"Me?" she asked as she got up and walked over to Lorelai.

"You are going to go and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and that nanny I know Grandma is gonna hire."

"Gamma?" she asked as she stood in front of Lorelai, the pair eye to eye.

"Yes, and Grandpa." Lorelai picked Charlie up and watched as she puzzled every thing out.

"Momma an' Wowy go?"

"Yes."

"Me too?" she asked hopefully. She liked staying with her grandparents, but something was telling her that this wasn't going to be just a weekend, it was going to be a long time.

"Not with us kiddo," she said as she quickly pulled the hair elastic out of Charlie's hair. She combed her fingers through a few times before she tied the hair back again, making sure it would stay out of the toddlers eyes.

"Me too, me too," she said insistently, patting her chest with a chubby little hand.

"Come on," she said as she picked her up and headed to Rory's room. "Let's go to Luke's."

"Ya!" she said as she relaxed in her mother's arms, forgetting about the previous conversation for the moment.

"Luke's?" she asked Rory.

"Yes, I'm tired of looking at this," she said. "Hey, do you think we should practice?"

"Practice what?"

"Lugging the back packs around," Rory said as she looked over to where hers was propped up in the corner of her room. "Maybe we should work on breaking in the hiking boots too."

"Ooh, we should," she said as she put Charlie down and left Rory's room, heading up to hers to grab her back pack and hiking boots. Charlie watched her mother go before she turned her attention back to Rory who was looking for her boots.

"Where's my boot?" she asked Charlie. "You were playing with it, where is it?" Charlie furrowed her brow as she took a good look at the boot Rory was holding before she ran out of the room and headed to the living room, digging through some of the piles until she found Rory's boot. She quickly ran back to Rory, dragging the boot by a lace behind her.

"Tada!" Charlie exclaimed, very proud of her self.

"Tada!" Rory echoed as she quickly put it on and put her back pack on. "MOM!" she called as she headed towards the living room.

"Momma!" Charlie echoed as she grabbed a hold of one of the straps on Rory's bag and trailed along behind her, giggling as they went.

"Ok, let's go," she said as she trudged down the stairs, dragging her bag behind her. "Charlie, shoes?"

"Oops," she said as they all looked down at her bare feet. Lorelai quickly grabbed a pair of sandals she could just slip on and soon, they were out the door and on their way to Luke's.

* * *

"Coming through!" Rory called out as she headed towards Luke's, Charlie hanging onto one of the straps from her bag and Lorelai walking behind her. "Heavy packs," she called out again.

"Out of our way, peace boy!" Lorelai called out when the town troubadour didn't move. Rory and Lorelai both smashed into him as they walked past. "No offence, love the song," Lorelai said with a smile after they were past him. "Carry on, go," she said as they continued walking towards Luke's. They both let out a sigh of relief as they made it into the diner. "And wuss patrol, halt," she said as she and Rory each shared a sigh of relief as they shucked their packs off and collapsed onto chairs. Lorelai looked over at Charlie who had already climbed up onto one by herself.

"I've never known such pain," Rory complained as she massaged her shoulder.

"We are so not walking around Europe with those annoying things on our backs," Lorelai added as she passed Charlie a menu to flip through.

"But we're backpacking through Europe," Rory pointed out as she looked at her mother. "How're we gonna do this without backpacks?"

"But all the time we've talked about backpacking, I never actually pictured us with backpacks. I saw spry, accommodating European men with neat moustaches trailing after us, carrying our luggage, hailing taxi cabs, constantly reminding us how beautiful we are," Lorelai said as she leaned heavily on the table, resting her chin in a hand.

"No," Rory said with a sad shake of her head. "It's just the two of us, humpin' our backpacks around."

"Well, at least my new walking shoes are all broken in. I you count broken skin, broken toes," she complained as she leaned over to undo them.

"Don't do that," Luke said as he walked over to the table. He glanced over at what Charlie was pointing to on the menu. "No, you don't like meatloaf," he told her. She furrowed her brow at him for a moment before she went back to the menu.

"Don't do what?" Lorelai asked as she held her undone shoelaces in her hand.

"Don't take your shoes off. This is a restaurant," Luke complained.

"I don't see a 'No shirt, no shoes, no service' sign," she pointed out calmly. Rory looked up at Luke, waiting for his answer.

"It's right here," he said, pointing to himself. "Don't do that."

"We're in pain, Luke," Rory whined loudly at him.

"But it's great that you guys are bearing it so nobly," he said, offering Rory a patronising smile. "And can you move these?" he asked, pointing to the backpacks that were sitting in a heap right in front of the door.

"Can? No," Rory said immediately.

"Would if we could? Debatable," Lorelai added. Luke sighed and rolled his eyes before he headed over the packs and grabbed one in each had. He quickly stood them up by the coat rack by the wall while the girls look on in amazement. "Look at that," Lorelai commented.

"Spry and accommodating," Rory commented with a nod of approval. Lorelai immediately asked if he'd grow a moustache and follow her and Rory around Europe for the summer. Just as she was really starting to flirt with him, he told them that he couldn't because he had plans this summer.

"Really?" Lorelai asked, not believing this at all.

"Yup, I'm closing down the diner for a couple of weeks and taking Nicole on a little trip. We're gonna drive through western Canada and then take a cruise up to Alaska," he said, looking between Lorelai and Rory, gauging their reactions to this news.

"Intimate," Lorelai commented, never taking her eyes off of Luke.

"I guess," he said with a shrug. "Is it?" he asked, after thinking about it for a moment. Lorelai snag a few bars of _The Love Boat_ theme before she quickly pointed out that it was a nice place to propose and he shrugged it off, saying he had no plans too.

"Romantic cruises say commitment, my friend," Lorelai said as Rory nodded in agreement while she looked up at Luke too. Luke shrugged that comment off as well, saying once again that he had no plans to propose and would they please drop it? Lorelai crooned about The Love Boat one last time before Luke changed the subject to Rory's graduation from Chilton.

"Wednesday at four, correct?" he asked, glad to be moving away from the whole subject of the cruise. Rory agreed that it was.

"You know, you really don't have to go to it, Luke," Rory added.

"I want to," he assured her. "I feel like I've been through the whole Chilton thing with you."

"Good," Rory said with a nod. With that settled, Luke asked them about ordering and they both declined, deciding instead to go home and rest from their arduous trek with the backpacks. Lorelai helped Charlie off the chair and the three of them headed for the door.

"Hey, wait, don't leave these here," he said, pointing to the large packs in the corner.

"Store'em for us," Rory said as she stepped out the door, holding Charlie's hand.

"Yeah, until we can hire a flatbed truck to carry'em home for us," Lorelai said as she joined her girls before Luke had a chance to protest. He opened his mouth to call out to them, but the door had already closed the three Gilmore Girls were already crossing the street. He cast one more disgruntled look at the packs before he heaved a sigh and went back to work.

* * *

A few days later, Lorelai, with Charlie, Sookie, Luke and Kirk headed up to the Dragonfly Inn. Sookie, Charlie and Lorelai waited outside as Kirk looked for mould and Luke just checked the property over.

"Come back Peanut," Sookie called to Charlie as she strayed a little too far from them. "Why isn't she at home.

"I miss her already and we haven't even left for Europe yet," Lorelai said as Charlie ran over to hand her some rocks she had collected before she headed off to find more things in the grass. "So, Heather has happily begun her summer early. I passed her number along to my mother because I know that as soon as we set foot on that plane, she'll be hiring a nanny, so she might as well hire one Charlie already likes."

"Makes sense," Sookie agreed as they fell into an easy conversation, each of them accepting the random things Charlie brought to them. Before long, Luke came out to talk about what he had seen in the Inn.

"So, what's the final prognosis, Luke?" Lorelai asked after Kirk had assured them that he hadn't found any mould yet. "We're not buying a money pit, are we?"

"You're gonna spend money, but it's not a pit," he assured them, still trying to get the remnants of the spider web he walked through off of his face. "Might be a steal," he said with a shrug.

"It's a steal!" Lorelai exclaimed happily.

"We are such great business women!" Sookie agreed, equally happy.

"Once you start work, you can probably have this place up and running in four or five months."

"Which will give the Independence Inn plenty of time to find our replacements," Sookie said.

"We could be running our own inn in less than a year," Lorelai said as she looked over the building once again. She and Sookie smiled as Charlie ran over, handing her latest treasure to her mother before demanding that Luke pick her up. "Wow," she commented to herself as she considered what was in store for them in the near future.

Of course, the moment was broken when Kirk ran screaming from the building because he had seen a mouse.

* * *

Later that day, after Lorelai had put an end to Sookie and Michel's bickering about their one and only guest at the inn, the three of them watched John, Mia's son, and a group of men standing in the lobby, talking.

"Where's Charlie?" Sookie asked when she noticed the toddler has disappeared over lunch.

"At home with Rory, she's in about the same boat I am." Sookie nodded as Michel rolled his eyes.

"Lorelai, how long can we keep this up?" Michel asked her as he leaned on the desk.

"Keep what up?" she asked as she flipped through notes in her clip board.

"We have one guest, half the rooms are still closed from the fire, most of the staff is laid off, I am doing mite towels and the owner's son is walking around with a bunch of men in suits," he said, ticking things off on his fingers as he went.

"Yeah," Sookie added. "John's here. That can't be good." The three of them took a moment to look over at John and the other men in Armani suites who were huddled in a group talking. They all looked very serious and were have no light moments.

"John is looking things over for the renovation that will reopen all the closed rooms so we can be up and running again," Lorelai said confidently. "Stop worrying." Sookie and Michel both agreed, but Lorelai could tell that they were still nervous about the fate of the inn. The pair wandered off shortly before the phone rang. Lorelai was more than a little surprised to hear her mother on the other end asking first about Rory's graduation and then, if they could buy her a car as a present.

Lorelai readily agreed to the car, making them promise that it would be a sensible little car and not something outrageous. With all the Gilmore's relatively happy, they hung up and Lorelai bit her tongue as John came over to the desk to get another legal pad out of a drawer.

"Hey, you and your Armani posse want something to drink, John?" she asked with a smile. He declined and she got right to the point. "So, I've been lying to people all day about you," she told him with a tight smile.

"About what?" he asked, leaning on the desk.

"Oh, about how it's not a big deal that you're walking around with a concerned look on your face with a group of men with concerned looks on their faces. I think I've been lying to me a little, too."

"We have to close off three more rooms," he said bluntly.

"Three? That'll leave us with two," she pointed out as she felt her stomach hit her knees. It soon hit her feet when John told her that because of the cost of repairs, Mia was leaning towards selling the inn.

"Nothing's final yet," he assured her.

"Right," she said quietly. "Hey, try not to trip over our guest," she added with a smile.

"I won't," he assured her with a smile of his own. She watched him head over to his group again and she felt her mouth go dry. She could lie to Michel and Sookie all she wanted, but she could see the writing on the wall. The inn was not going to survive the Armani Posse's inspection.

* * *

"Sookie, Jackson, you better not be in bed!" Lorelai yelled as she banged on their front door. "Come on! The night is young and the champagne's cold!" she yelled out when they took to long to get to the door. When they let her in, Lorelai started to issue orders. She told Sookie to get some glasses and for Jackson to put on some music while she opened the bottles.

"Ok, I've got some cold Dom for me and Jackson," she said as she quickly poured it into flutes that Sookie had just finished wiping off.

"Happens to be my brand," Jackson joked as he accepted a glass from Lorelai.

"And, uh, for Sookie and little baby, uh, whatever-it-is, we've got the apple bubbly stuff. And cheers," she said quickly as they all took a drink.

"Well, what are we celebrating?' Jackson asked excitedly.

"Are you ready?" she asked, keeping her voice light and excited.

"Yeah," Sookie said, her eyes all big.

"The Independence Inn is closing!" Lorelai said as she downed a little more of the champagne.

"Yay!" Sookie and Jackson each exclaimed but the enthusiasm quickly died as they realised what Lorelai had just said.

"Not closing, closed," Lorelai amended. "We're finished. It's all over. They're boarding the place up as we speak. Who wants more?" she asked as she topped off her glass, as well as Jackson's.

"I'm missing the celebrating angle," he said.

"You should always celebrate new challenges, and that's what this is." The three of them sat around for a moment longer before Jackson mentioned that they could now concentrate fully on opening the Dragonfly. "Just drink some more," Lorelai said quickly. "How're you feeling?" she asked Sookie.

"A little drunk and all I'm drinking is apple juice," she admitted as she pushed her glass away from her a little.

"Well, good, 'cause I've got another little piece of news for you. We can't buy the Dragonfly because I can't swing my share of the money because I no longer have a steady income," she said, a smile on her face as she took another pull from her champagne glass.

"This is another exciting challenge, right?" Sookie asked as she realized that she was going to see way less of Lorelai. Jackson quickly chimed in as well, saying how he was now losing business and was going to see his wife an close friend way less as well.

"Cheers!" Lorelai said as they all drank some more. With the Tijuana Brass playing in the back ground the drinks fizzing away in front of them, Sookie, Jackson and Lorelai looked at each other, each trying to muster up a smile for the others.

* * *

Lorelai wandered home slowly after she left Sookie and Jackson's. The false sense of excitement they had created was gone and all she felt was disappointed and empty. When she got to the corner of the square, she stopped and considered her options. She could go home to her girls or she could stop for a cup of coffee first.

Naturally, the coffee won out.

"Wow, who killed your dog?" Luke asked when he saw her. Lorelai just shook her head as she wandered over to the counter and slid onto a stool. "Lorelai?" he asked when he got a good look at her face.

"Coffee," was all she said. He complied, with out harassing her about it. He leaned on the counter as she took in the smell before she took a sip. "The inn is closed," she said after a long moment. "They are boarding it up as we speak."

"I am so sorry," he said to her.

"Rory's financial aid didn't come through either," she told him, finally looking up from her mug.

"What does that mean?" he asked as visions of Rory having to defer for a year flittered through his head.

"It means I can't swing my share of the money to buy the Dragonfly and as soon as we get back from Europe, I'm on the hunt for a job," she said with a shrug. "We were so close, Luke. So close. I could see it, feel it, smell it, you name it. I mean, Rory had made it into college, Sookie and I were about to start our own inn and Charlie is nearly talking in full sentences and now. . . It's all gone," she said as she tossed her hands in the air. She stared at her coffee mug for a moment before she finally looked up at him. He felt his stomach sink a little when he saw the look of pain on Lorelai's face.

"It is not all gone," he assured her. "It's just a little further away than you thought it was." Lorelai shook her head.

"Luke, it is so far away that it might as well be gone," she said as she played with her coffee mug a while longer. "I wish my father had never given me that stupid cheque," she muttered. He looked at her quizzically for a moment and she quickly explained about the $75,000 cheque her father had given her. "I paid my parents back for Chilton and now they're barely speaking to me again, not that that is really a horrible thing, but, you know."

"I know," he agreed.

"And that cheque also pulled Rory out of the running for financial aid because it made it look like we had money. So, I now have to use the money I saved for the inn to put Rory through Yale for at least one year, possible all four, and to keep a roof over Charlie's head until I can find something that will pay as much as the inn did. Karma sucks," she threw in at the end.

"How is this possibly karma's fault?" he asked her, trying to keep the amused smirk off of his face.

"I negotiated at Fran's funeral to get that inn. I wanted it so bad that Karma had to do something big to get back at me," she said, small smirk gracing her face as well, simply because he was wearing one.

"This is not Karma's fault," Luke assured her as he squeezed her hand. "This is just a run of bad luck and it will turn around." She just looked up at him. "Have a little faith," he said as he cut her a piece of pie and put it in front of her before he headed out from behind the counter to clean the tables.

Lorelai sighed and rested her elbows on the counter as she stared at the pie for a long moment. Since when did Luke believe in Karma and faith? With a sigh, she started to pick at the pie, hoping against hope that Luke was right and this was all just a run of bad luck that was magically going to turn around before she and Rory went to Europe.

* * *

"What are you gonna do now?" Lorelai asked Rory as she started to stalk off towards her room. She and Sookie had just finished tailoring Rory's graduation dress when Sookie had let the news about their inability to purchase the Dragonfly slip. Lorelai had quickly spilled out all the gory details after Sookie had slipped out of the house, and after some pointless planning and negotiating, Rory had abruptly stood up from the couch and headed off.

"Rail at God for awhile," Rory called as she slammed her door.

"Tell her I said hi," Lorelai called as she flopped back against the couch and stared at the fireplace.

"Momma sad?" Charlie asked, having finally pulled herself away from her stacking containers when Rory slammed her door.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh. "Momma's sad."

"Oh," Charlie said as she climbed up into her mother's lap. Lorelai welcomed her and held her tight as Charlie snuggled in.

"Thanks baby," she whispered to Charlie as the pair of the sat on the edge of the couch together.

* * *

The Gilmore house was quiet in the days leading up to Rory's graduation. The piles of clothes for Europe began to shrink from want to need as the piles of travel books and phrase books became more worn from repeated readings.

Lorelai spent the time worrying about everything, about Europe and paying for Yale and leaving Charlie with her parents while Rory worried about exactly the same things. Finally, she came up with a plan.

"I need money," Rory told her grandparents as she sat on their couch, a few hours before her graduation ceremony. "For Yale. It's a long story, but no other financing came through and all of the other options that mom and I have are just. . . Well, not good enough," she said. She quickly spilled out her offer. If Richard and Emily would lend her the money for 4 years at Yale, she'd get a part time job to pay them back, increasing the amount as her pay went up as well as reinstating Friday night dinner.

Emily jumped at the chance to have her granddaughters, and by extension, her daughter back in the house once a week, but Richard hesitated, changing the deal. He proposed that she not start paying back the loan until 5 years after she was done, 7 if she went for her masters and Rory grudgingly agreed before she slipped out the door to head to Chilton.

As she walked the short distance to school, she couldn't help but smile to herself about the fact that not only had she solved their money problems, she also felt as light as she had since before her mother had told her about the lack of financial aid.

* * *

Sookie and Lorelai, Charlie in her arms, wandered slowly into the court yard where the graduation was going to be held. Charlie squinted out at the world from under her hat, occasionally craning her neck up to look at the buildings that surrounded her. She cast a glance over her mother's shoulder at Luke and Jackson who were lingering behind, discussing the architecture of the building.

As they found their seats and called the boys over, Lorelai's pager went off.

"Who's paging you?" Sookie asked, as she leaned out around Jackson to look at her. Lorelai quickly handed Charlie to Luke before she dug her pager out of her purse.

"Maybe there's a special surprise party for the valedictorian's mom backstage before the ceremony," she said as she saw that it was Rory paging her. Sookie chuckled and shook her head. "I'll be right back. Wow, look at the gargoyles," she said as she sprinted off. Sookie sighed and rolled her eye as the boys started back up again, only this time there was pointing as Luke showed Charlie what they were looking at.

* * *

"You're getting your inn," Rory blurted out excitedly after she had dragged her mother out into the hallway and to a relatively secluded space beside a pay phone.

"What?" Lorelai asked as she looked hard at Rory.

"Go put in a bid on the Dragonfly. You've got the money now, Grandpa's money," she said excitedly as she played with her mortar board, still grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you talking about? How do I have money?" she asked, looking Rory in the eye.

"Grandma and Grandpa are paying for Yale," she said quickly. "I explained everything and they totally understand and they're loaning me the money for Yale." Lorelai blinked at her for a moment before she started asking Rory when Emily and Richard had come to her about this. Rory quickly explained that it was all her thing, that she went to them and not to worry, that there weren't any strings attached to this.

"No strings?" Lorelai asked cautiously. Never in her entire life had she ever seen her parents do anything for anyone without attaching strings.

"No. I just have to pay them back starting five years after I graduate and I have to start going back for Friday night dinners," she said, a large smile still on her face.

"Um, hello, Pinocchio, those are strings," Lorelai said quickly. Rory's assurances that Lorelai wasn't obligated to attend the dinners did nothing to make her feel any better. They argued a little longer about the whole situation before Rory assured her that at some point, they'd arrange a scenario where Lorelai, Rory and Charlie won while Emily and Richard lost out.

"But, the ceremony's about to start, I better get back out there. And go buy that inn!" she called as she dashed back to the gathering room. Lorelai stood, shaking her head for a moment before she walked back out to the court yard. She quickly spotted Emily and Richard and convinced them to join the rest of the group. The disapproving look Emily shot at Luke, who was still holding Charlie, was not lost on Lorelai.

"So, long story short," she whispered to Sookie as they each leaned forward to talk around Luke. "And a partially painful story at that, and hang onto your hat, but we can now put a bid in on the Dragonfly."

"What? Are you kidding?" Sookie hissed, a smile lighting up her face.

"Nope," Lorelai said with a shake of her head and a smile of her own. Sookie quickly jumped up and snuck out of their row to go and call the attorney and put a bid in. Everyone else in the row couldn't help but snicker as Sookie made a clumsy exit, hitting at least one person in the next row in the head with her camera.

* * *

As the ceremony dragged on, Luke began to see the benefits of wearing a tie, if only because it seemed to keep the almost 2 year old on his lap occupied. He wasn't really sure how it accomplished that, but it did and he was glad of it.

"Look," he whispered to Charlie when Rory stepped up to the podium. Charlie looked up at him for a moment before she craned her neck around to see what he was talking about. He eventually stood her up on his legs so she could see Rory.

Try as he might, Stone Cold Luke was losing the battle to stay cool as Rory continued on with her valedictorian speech. By the time Rory had finished talking about what Lorelai meant to her, he was balling just as hard as everyone else, though he tried to play it off.

* * *

Lorelai shook her head as Sookie fumbled her way back into their row of seats after taking pictures of Rory walking across the stage and answering a page. She quickly motioned to Lorelai and the pair leaned across Luke and Charlie once again as Sookie whispered in Lorelai's ear.

"Oh my God. I, I need a pen," she said as she started to harass Luke about a pen.

"You have to stop assuming that I take pens with me everywhere I go," he told her, slightly amused by the whole conversation. Fortunately, Richard came to the rescue and handed Lorelai a pen. She quickly snatched the program that was sitting on Emily's lap and jotted something down on the cover. She got Rory's attention and held it up to her and the two girls burst into smiles, sending funny faces back at each other after Rory had read the message: WE GOT THE INN!!

* * *

"How was my speech?" Rory asked when she met up with the group after the ceremony.

"It made everyone cry, including stone cold Luke," Lorelai said with a smile.

"Luke, you old softy," Rory said with a smile as she nudged Luke a little with her elbow.

"I will never live this down," he muttered, rolling his eyes as he turned his attention to the only person who wouldn't make fun of him, Charlie.

"Not with me in your life," Lorelai added with a smile as she picked Charlie's hat up off the ground and brushed it off before putting it back on her head.

"I gotta go," he said with a bit of a sigh, handing Charlie to Lorelai. "I gotta get back to the diner."

"Thanks for coming Luke," Rory said with a smile.

"Oh, sure," he said casually, shoving his hands in his pockets. "The building's amazing. So are you," he threw in with a smile.

"Thanks," she said again with a smile as he quickly hugged her before she headed off to say goodbye to Paris. Lorelai and Luke looked at each other for a moment before she brought up the subject of his cruise with Nicole. She apologised for making fun of it and, in the end, convinced him to go.

"So, I guess I'll see ya in a couple of months," he said, his hands back in his pockets.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "I'll see you then." Charlie waived to Luke over Lorelai's shoulder and giggled when he finally waived back to her. Rory couldn't help but smile as she watched Charlie and Luke. Unfortunately, her happiness was broken when her cell phone began to ring. Again. It had been doing this on and off for nearly a week now.

"Hello?' she asked as she finally got it open. Silence greeted her. She pushed her stuff into her mother's arms as she quickly rushed into the school. "Jess? Is that you?" she asked. Rory prayed to hear an answer on the other end but, when it didn't come, she began to chew Jess out for all the things he had done, or rather hadn't done, before he'd left town. "Was this pay back?" she asked into the phone, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Was this pay back for what happened at Kyle's party? I thought we were ok. I mean, you could have told me if we weren't ."

"It wasn't because of Kyle's party," Jess finally said. Rory fell silent, waiting to see if Jess would say anything else. "I just. . . I didn't. . . Me and Luke. . . " he trailed off. He didn't exactly know how to tell Rory about what had happened the night before he left town. "I'm ok," he said finally.

"I miss you," Rory said, fighting even harder to keep the tears out of her voice. "A lot."

"I know," he replied. Rory looked behind her quickly when she heard her mother call out to her.

"I have to go," she said quickly. "Will you call me later tonight? We're leaving for Europe in a couple of days, so, tonight would be good."

"I'll see what I can do," Jess assured her. The pair said a rushed good bye before Rory hung up, wiped at her eyes and put a smile on her face as she turned to face her mother and baby sister.

* * *

Lorelai sighed as she tossed the safety pin back into her purse as she and Rory gave up on trying to find somewhere to carve their initials into the school. She had really, really wanted to leave their mark on the place, if only to defy the rules one last time. They trudged slowly up the stairs, Rory holding Charlie's hand before Lorelai stopped them.

"Wait, wait. Look around for a second," she said as they did just that. Rory looked hard at the banister, the sconces and the marble floor, trying to figure out what exactly they were looking for. "Notice?" she asked with a smile as she looked at Rory.

"Notice what?" Rory asked as she looked around a little more before focusing on her mother.

"It's not so scary anymore," she said with a smile as she and Rory each took one more look at everything. Her mother was right. The school that had once seemed so huge and intimidating was nothing more than an old stone building, filled with many historical features.

"No, it's not," Rory said as Lorelai threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close as the three of them walked out of Chilton for the last time.

* * *

Luke smiled to himself as he finished cleaning the last table in the diner, his tie hanging loosely around his neck and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up his arms. He gave the table one more wipe before he pulled his rag away with a bit of a flourish just as the bell above the door jingled.

"Hey Luke," Lorelai said softly with a smile as she slipped into the diner behind him.

"Lorelai, hi," he said, more than a little surprised to see her. "Where are Rory and Charlie?"

"Oh, out in the car," she said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. He nodded as he played with the rag in his hand.

"Oh. It was a really nice ceremony, wasn't it?" he asked, tossing the rag onto the table behind him.

"Yeah, it was beautiful," she said, flashing him a smile as she played with the handle of her purse.

"What's up?" he finally asked her as a moment of silence fell over them.

"I just wanted to say something to you in case we don't see each other before you go on your trip," she said as she looked him right in the eye.

"Sure, what?" he asked, returning her intense gaze.

"Don't get engaged," she said simply.

"What, why?" he asked, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "Lorelai?" he asked again when she didn't say anything. Lorelai offered him one last small smile before he watched her slip out of the diner just as quietly as she had come in, the skirt of her bright red dress swishing quietly. The jingle of the bell and the quiet sound of her heels the only things betraying her exit.

Luke woke up with a start and he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. When he leaned forward in the large armchair he had fallen asleep in, resting his elbows on his knees and scrubbing his face with his hands as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

* * *

Lorelai sighed a little as she tucked Charlie into the crib at her mother's house. Friday night dinner had been pleasant with her parents only harassing them slightly about looking up a number of their friends while they were in Europe. Of course, they both promised that they would, but they really didn't have any plans to unless money got very, very tight and they needed to stay somewhere free.

"Happy birthday baby," Lorelai whispered as she adjusted Charlie's blanket one more time before she began to rattle off Charlie's version of the birthday story. There wasn't going to be time to drop Charlie off in the morning, before they headed to the air port, so they were leaving her at Emily and Richard's the night before, which also happened to be the day before Charlie's 2nd birthday. "We'll have another party when we get home," she assured her when she was done with the story. "Just the cool kids from Stars Hollow," she threw in as she untwisted Charlotte the spider from the blankets and left her near Charlie's head. The little girl had taken to the spider recently, liking to at least have it nearby, if not clutched tightly in her hand.

"Mom?" Rory asked quietly as she came into Charlie's room.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking behind her.

"Ready?" she asked as she came over to the crib to stand beside her mother and take a last look at her sister.

"No. Are we sure we can't bring her with us?" she asked. Rory offered her mother a small smile.

"She'll be fine," she said confidently. "She's too little to really remember being left here."

"So, it doesn't really count?" Lorelai asked hopefully. "I'm not really abandoning her?"

"Not at all," Rory assured her as she linked an arm through Lorelai's. They both heaved a sigh as they said one more good bye to her before they slowly left the room and headed home.

* * *


End file.
